![]() Lucretia’s body was then paraded in the Roman Forum, and fuelled the overthrow of the king and Rome’s early monarchy, transforming it into the great republic which we know as the Roman Empire.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 Lucretia’s blood. 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 Lucius Tarquinius Superbus the king of Rome (at that time Rome was still a monarchy), 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 will try to offer as much of a consensus as I can. The story of Lucretia, who died by her own hand in 510 to 507 BCE, is well known. But the greatest challenge to any artist is a narrative painting with just a single person, because that individual has to carry the whole story. ![]() Constructing a good narrative painting with a lot of people – whether it is the Last Supper, or the Rape of the Sabine Women – is complex, and they are hard to paint really well. Most narrative paintings involve figures, often lots of them.Īlthough not mandatorily so, the best narratives are about people, and we empathise most with human stories. ![]()
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