Septimius Severus and Caracalla

Greuze painted Septimius Severus and Caracalla around 1769, his submission to the French Royal Academy for reception as a history painter — an application the Academy rejected, insisting that his talent was for genre rather than history. The scene depicted the Roman emperor Septimius Severus reproaching his son Caracalla for having attempted to assassinate him during the Scottish campaign. Greuze intended the work to prove his ability to compete in the most prestigious genre, but the Academy's rejection — insisting that his real strength lay in genre painting — was a professional humiliation that poisoned his relationship with the French art establishment for the rest of his career.

Greuze attempts the austere classical manner expected of history painting but retains the sentimental expression and soft modeling of his genre work. The tension between historical ambition and genre temperament explains the Académie's mixed reception.