Gaius Servilius Ahala presents the body of Spurius Maelius to Cincinnatus 1535

Domenico Beccafumi painted 'Gaius Servilius Ahala presents the body of Spurius Maelius to Cincinnatus' using oil on wood. Painted in the first half of the 16th century in Siena, this image shows the dangers of tyranny and the glory of its vanquishers. We see the story of Spurius Maelius, a wealthy plebian who, during a famine, attempted to gain popular support by selling grain to the poor. He was accused of seeking to make himself king and was killed by Gaius Servilius Ahala. The painting depicts the moment when Ahala presents Maelius's corpse to Cincinnatus, a symbol of Roman virtue, who had been appointed dictator to deal with the crisis. Beccafumi uses the scene to comment on the political tensions in his own time. In 16th-century Siena, there was a struggle between those who supported a republican government and those who favored a more authoritarian regime. As art historians, we can look to historical texts and political treatises from the period to understand the painting's meaning and to see how it reflects the social and institutional context in which it was created.