West’s arrival in England from Italy in 1763 occurred at a time when artists were seeking to create a distinguished national school of history painting. George III was eager to support such a goal and was also a keen supporter of the proposal to found a national academy for the teaching and display of arts: his patronage of West and the foundation of the Royal Academy in 1768 were closely intertwined. At the King’s instruction, ‘The Departure of Regulus’ (OM 1152, 405614) was shown at the first Royal Academy exhibition in 1769; he succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy in 1792. West painted around sixty pictures for George III between 1768 and 1801. From 1772 he was described in Royal Academy catalogues as ‘Historical Painter to the King’ and from 1780 he received an annual stipend from the King of £100. In the 1780s he gave drawing lessons to the Princesses and in 1791 he succeeded Richard Dalton as Surveyor of the King’s Pictures. This is one of three pairs of neo-classical history paintings, painted between 1769 and 1773, commissioned by George III to hang in his ‘Warm Room’ (a private sitting room) at Buckingham Palace (OM 1152-7, 405416-7, 405683-4 and 407524-5), along with one modern scene, the ‘Death of Wolfe’ (OM 1167, 407297). The first commission was placed in February 1768 when West showed the King his picture of Agrippina with the ashes of Germanicus which he had just completed for Robert Hay Drummond, Archbishop of York. This painting cost 400 guineas and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1771. It pairs off with the 'Departure of Regulus' (OM 1154, 405416) of 1769 and its meaning should probably be understood in contrast to that depiction of exemplary Roman virtue. According to Livy (Ab Urbe Condita), the boy Hannibal was eager to join his father, Hamilcar Barca, on his campaign in Spain in 237 BC; Hamilcar refused but made his son swear that as soon as he could he would become the enemy of Rome. We see here a large temple decorated with trophies of arms, standards and statues, the young Hannibal, under his father's aegis and trampling on a Roman shield and eagle, takes an oath on the altar at the foot of a statue of Jupiter, who appears in an African form with ram's horns but with his usual thunderbolts ('Barca' means 'thunderbolt'). The idea would seem to be that Hamilcar family are commendably brave, but unlike the steady principled resolve of Regulus, their courage is marred by hatred, anger and a thirst for vengence. The whole scene is made to seem irrational, frighteningly pagan and blood-thirsty. If this dialogue between the pair of paintings is intended it would not be the first or last time that a friend's courage is contrasted with an enemy's fanaticism.