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One of Venice's oldest patrician families, the Barbaro, commissioned a series of paintings depicting great figures from classical history and the Old Testament. Work in the Palazzo Barbaro on the Grand Canal stretched over half a century, involved more than half a dozen artists, and ultimately yielded nineteen canvases for three different rooms. Piazzetta's Mucius Scaevola is the third wall painting in the "camerone."
The painting shows the strength of character exhibited by Mucius Scaevola by putting his hand into the fire.
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