Art Reproductions Pollice Verso (aka Thumbs Down) by Jean Léon Gérôme (1824-1904, France) | WahooArt.com

Jean Léon Gérôme (i) - Oil (i) - Academicism (i) Pollice Verso (Latin for "with a turned thumb") is a painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme from 1872 that depicts the famous Roman gesture aimed at the victorious gladiator. The triumphant murmillo receives a thumbs-down gesture from spectators in the Colosseum, including the Vestals, while the vanquished retiarius raises two fingers to ask for compassion. The artwork was used as inspiration for the 2000 film Gladiator, in which Commodus puts out a raised thumb to save Maximus, the film's hero. In Book 6 of the Confessions, French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme portrays the drama of the gladiatorial spectacle that so enthralled Alypius (the painting was reputedly a central inspiration for the makers of the movie Gladiator). The signal for the winning gladiator to murder his opponent was an uplifted thumb, whereas the signal for compassion was closer to a closed fist, according to scholars.