About this artwork
The fateful struggle between the lust-crazed Roman prince Tarquin and Lucretia, the chaste wife of another Italian ruler, inspired two engravings by Cornelis Cort after Titian’s well-known painting of this subject (Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England). This engraving is oriented in the same direction as the painting, though with a more complete composition than the subsequently cropped original work. This impression is a fine, dark and early first state, before the artist’s signature and a poem were added at the bottom. Threatening murder and dishonor, Tarquin raped Lucretia, but her subsequent suicide fueled a rebellion against the monarchy, forever changing Roman history.
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Status
- Currently Off View
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Department
- Prints and Drawings
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Artist
- Cornelis Cort
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Title
- Tarquin and Lucretia
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Place
- Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1566–1576
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Medium
- Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
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Dimensions
- Plate: 42 × 28.8 cm (16 9/16 × 11 3/8 in.); Sheet: 42.4 × 29.1 cm (16 3/4 × 11 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Endowment
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Reference Number
- 2000.104
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/154012/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
