Trajan Speaking to Licinius Sura

What it is

This is a painting by Lodovico Pogliaghi, dated around 1885, showing an imagined scene inside a Roman interior with tall marble columns and white busts on pedestals. A man in a draped robe on the left extends a sword toward a bending man in a cloak on the right, who takes its hilt. A crowd stands at the right and a guard with a staff stands at the far left. The collection record gives Trajan's words to Licinius Sura: I give you this weapon so that you can use it against me when I am doing well and against me when I am doing badly. The image shown on Commons is a black and white reproduction, and the signature is in the lower left corner.

Why it matters

Trajan ruled from 98 to 117, and this painting was made many centuries after his reign. It is an imagined scene, so it shows the nineteenth-century artist's idea of Trajan's power and his trust in his officials. It connects to the emperor's image as a ruler who gave his subjects authority while accepting their judgment.

Look closer

• Who holds power in this scene, and how does the artist show it through posture and placement?
• Why might a painter choose to show a moment of trust in a ruler's words rather than a battle?
• What is left out of this imagined scene, and how would a historian check whether it happened?