Agostino Veneziano (Agostino de' Musi; c

The scene illustrates the famous episode of ancient Roman history described by Titus Livius (Ab Urbe Condita, V, 48-49). After the sack of Rome in 390 BC, the Romans strike a ransom agreement with Brennus, the chief of the Senones, agreeing on the sum of a thousand pounds of gold. • To the right: The balance used for weighing the gold is placed in front of a large monumental table covered with pottery, cups and chests full of coins and treasures. Brennus has just cast his heavy sword onto the balance, uttering the historic phrase "Vae Victis" ("Woe to the vanquished!") to arbitrarily increase the weight of the ransom demanded. • To the left: The timely intervention of the Roman dictator Marcus Furius Camillus, who suddenly arrives on horseback with his armed troops, interrupting the transaction. Camillus will challenge the ransom, declaring that Rome will ransom itself "ferro, non auro" (with the iron of weapons, not with barley or gold). • In the background: Classical architectural elements with a Renaissance taste, including an historied column (reminiscent of the Column of Trajan or Antonina) and two obelisks/sharply pointed pyramids. From a window of the building, a crowd of citizens watches anxiously the dramatic negotiation. State of Preservation Based on a close analysis of the front and the physical details, the conservation state can be defined as from fair to good (B) for a sheet nearly 500 years old: • Inking and Impression: The print shows the typical and complex network of parallel and cross lines of Agostino Veneziano, an unmistakable signature of the circle linked to the prints of Marcantonio Raimondi. The contrasts remain sharp and legible, though there is a partial and natural fatigue in the darkest passages due to the printing. The sheet appears trimmed just beyond the upper contour line and on the sides. The lower margin preserves the copper plate’s strike. The original sixteenth-century engraving is entirely mounted in antiquity on a secondary support sheet (technique of counter-foundation). As highlighted by the macro detail in the lower right, the characteristic rectangular cartouche laid on the ground is empty and lacks the engraver’s signature. This element indicates that the sheet belongs to a later state.

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