Scipio Africanus Freeing Massiva by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo at the Walters Art Museum

As described by the Roman historian Livy, 1st century BCE, the youthful Massiva was the nephew of Massinissa, king of Numidia in present-day Algeria who had supported Carthage against the Romans commanded by Scipio Africanus, a Roman general so known because of his conquests in North Africa. Massiva was captured by the Romans on the battlefield in North Africa in 209 BCE and brought before Scipio. When Scipio learned the youth's identity, he chastised him for not obeying his uncle and staying off the battlefield. On his triumphant return to Rome, Scipio was honored with a grand triumph for his victories over Hannibal, the Carthaginians, and Syphax. It was during these celebrations that he adopted the agnomen Africanus, signifying his conquests in Africa. By this time, even though he was just in his early 30s, Scipio's achievements had eclipsed those of many of his contemporaries. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was an Italian painter and printmaker who was born in Venice in 1696 and passed away in Madrid, Spain in 1770. He was a prolific painter who worked not only in Italy but also in Germany and Spain. Tiepolo was considered an important member of the Rococo style of painting.