Consul Titus Manlius Torquatus Beheading his Son

In 340 BC, according to the Roman historian Livy, the consul Titus Manlius Torquatus forbade any soldier to leave his post to fight. His own son broke the order, fought the enemy and won, and the father had him executed anyway. Bol shows the aftermath. The consul sits enthroned between two columns with a laurel wreath on his head, the headless body lies before the steps, and the executioner lifts the son's head towards him. On the right a soldier holds a dappled grey horse. The canvas was made in the early 1660s for the headquarters of the Amsterdam Admiralty, and its message for the navy's officers was double. Insubordination would be punished severely, and those in command had to remain impartial.