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516 - Guillaume GOUDIN (Toulouse c. 1740 – after 1807, Paris)
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Estimate €800 - €1,200
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Description
Guillaume GOUDIN (Toulouse c. 1740 – after 1807, Paris) Achillas, Caesar’s envoy, ordering the execution of Ptolemy XIII’s emissaries who had brought him Pompey’s head Pen and black ink, grey wash, white gouache Signed and dated, lower left: 1781 Height: 48 cm Length: 60 cm (visible) Described as a pupil of Joseph Vien in Paris, Goudin exhibited his drawings for the first time at the Toulouse Academy in 1761. He was in Toulouse between 1763 and 1780, when he presented a series of drawings on historical subjects at the Salon and was admitted to the Academy. From then on, each new Salon brought with it a number of compositions in a style similar to that of Gamelin, with whom he was sometimes confused. After running a private school of drawing, he taught the subject at the Academy from 1786 onwards, and at the École des Arts following the Revolution. Suetonius, in his *Life of Caesar*, chapter 35, explains the context of this episode in the Civil War between Pompey and Caesar. Following the terrible defeat at Pharsalus (48 BC), Pompey sought refuge in Egypt: “Pompey arrived in Egypt, believing he could count on the hospitality of the young Ptolemy. A boat came to meet him and invited him to disembark. Just as he was stepping ashore, he was stabbed to death before the eyes of his wife and son. His head and his ring were then sent to Caesar, who wept and turned his face away.” The scene depicted by Goudin appears to be inspired by Caesar’s own account in *Bellum Civile*, III, 104. "Dioscorides and Serapion, who had both been ambassadors to Rome and enjoyed great authority with Ptolemy the Elder, were sent to him. But as soon as they appeared before Achillas [Caesar’s envoy], he would neither hear their message nor consider their mission: he ordered that they be seized and put to death. One was killed on the spot; the other, seriously wounded, was carried away by his men, who believed him to be dead.”
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About the sale PRESTIGE - CLASSICAL CENTURIES - VAYRES CASTLE
Auction location
Auction time 10/18/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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