![]() ![]() She then had to undergo the ordeal of his trial. The daughter of a painter who became probably the finest of the successors to Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi was herself raped by Tassi when a pupil of his. As she now crosses the threshold of death, she will fade back into the blackness of her robes, and the oblivion beyond. The viscid, dark blood covering the end reveals that it has already been thrust in, and has just been withdrawn. Her left hand holds her robes up above the dagger, which is grasped in her right hand. Her face is cast down, as if starting the collapse after she had thrust her dagger into her chest, its expression masklike, as death starts to overwhelm her. She wears fine jewellery, as would be appropriate for a woman of her status, and her hair is elaborately decorated with pearls and stones. ![]() Veronese shows Lucretia in her funereal black robes, clearly in opulent surroundings judging by the rich but sombre drapes, with the dagger held at her breast. Paolo Veronese (1528–1588), Lucretia (c 1580-5), oil on canvas, 109.5 x 90.5 cm, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien. There, her husband and his friends swear to overthrow the king (centre), and this brings about the new constitution.Īs he grew older, Veronese attained a maturity which enabled him to tackle highly emotive subjects, such as Lucretia, one of his most moving paintings. Her body is carried from her house (right) and placed in the Forum. She then commits suicide in shame, and anger erupts through Rome. At the left, Lucretia is raped at knifepoint by Sextus Tarquinius. Sandro Botticelli’s comprehensive account of The Story of Lucretia, painted in 1500-01, is not one of his well-known works, but tells the story effectively using multiplex narrative. Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), The Story of Lucretia (1500-01), tempera on panel, 83.5 x 180 cm, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA. Benjamin Britten also wrote an opera The Rape of Lucretia, first performed in 1946. Her body was then paraded in the Roman Forum, and fuelled the overthrow of the king and Rome’s early monarchy.Ī story of passion, strong emotion, and gravity, this has been depicted in many paintings, with written accounts by Chaucer, Shakespeare, and many others. Those mourning Lucretia’s death swore the same oath on it, and the blood of Lucretia. Her husband returned, was distraught, and swore an oath on the dagger that he would overthrow the current king’s dynasty and end its tyranny. While her father and the witnesses were discussing the matter, she drew a dagger and stabbed herself in the chest, dying in front of them. The following morning she dressed in black and met with her father and witnesses, in front of whom she gave account of what had happened, and called for vengeance. For whatever reason, Sextus Tarquinius, the son of King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, was being entertained by Lucretia and her household, her husband being away at the siege of Ardea.Īt night, Sextus entered Lucretia’s bedroom, and offered her the choice of submitting to his sexual advances and becoming his wife, or he would kill her and one of her slaves, and claim that he had caught them engaged in adulterous sex. Lucretia, the daughter of Spurius Lucretius, the prefect of Rome and a “man of distinction”, was married to one of its consuls, Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, who was the son of the king’s nephew. Various versions, all of which date from about 500 years later, contain slightly different details, so I’ll here try to offer as much of a consensus as I can. ![]() The story of Lucretia, who died by her own hand, is well known. After that, his conduct remained as oppressive and autocratic until it reached a crisis in about 510 to 507 BCE, when a rape and suicide led to his downfall and the establishment of the Republic of Rome. Its seventh and last king, Tarquinius Superbus, was self-made, literally taking over the throne in around 534 BCE and having his predecessor assassinated shortly afterwards. The city of Rome has a turbulent history, which was perhaps bloodiest during the reigns of its seven kings, before it became a republic.
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