Well... there's no much work in progress left, apart from the background and final painting... which when ready will go in the galleries!
After the sitting Porsena I took advantage of a little pause from other works, to bring ahead and finish the figures for this scene... another very old project I dreamed for ages is finally almost done!
It a famous episode of the history of Rome:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Porsena
The characters really existed and the story is probably true oo, despite its conclusion told in the official Roman history instead is most likely propaganda... apparently to hide a severe defeat, as is evident from several clues that Porsena conquered and ruled Rome for a while after all.
So he wasn't so impressed from Mutius attempt, neither from his warnings about the next 300 Romans ready to try again after all!
For the set I imagined Porsena in high rank but relatively simple military leader's clothes and armor... while Gaius Mutius sneaked in the Etruscan camp simply dressed, and armed just with a small dagger... and killed the King's scribe by mistake because he was dressed in very rich luxury clothes... so he burned his own hand which failed!
I imagined Porsena's son Arunte next to him, ready to protect his dad, unsheathing a Makhaira from the scabbard... just in case (perhaps I'll add a cloack to him too)
And the King's guards in heavy armor, quite astonished rather than just alarmed, in the act of stopping that crazy Roman guy!
Some controversial hipotesys suppose Mutius was actually trying to steal some pork ribs from Porsena's barbecue!
Now there's the background left to do, a section of the inside of a big commander tent on the back side... perhaps it wuld be nice to make two rooms in the tent, and an open door to spot the killed scribe leaning on a table... but going on this way I'll never finish!