Camillus Handing the Falerian Schoolmaster over to his Pupils

Camillus Handing the Falerian Schoolmaster over to his Pupils is an oil on canvas painting by Nicolas Poussin, from 1637.

It shows a scene from the capture of Falerii in Chapter 10 of Camillus, one of the Parallel Lives by Plutarch, in which Marcus Furius Camillus punishes a Falerian schoolmaster who hoped to gain favour by handing over his pupils to the Romans besieging the city.

The preparatory drawings for the painting show how the painter was first interested in integrating the foreground characters: Marcus Furius Camillus in his praetorium, the lictor standing behind him, the schoolchildren and the fallen master.

Poussin's choices seem to have been inspired by an illustration of the work by Plutarch (Latin version of 1516).

According to Otto Grautoff, Poussin would have been more inspired by the iconographic depiction of the captive Timoclea brought before Alexander, painted by Domenichino (c.