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Tarquin and Lucretia

A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving in black on ivory laid paper.

Date:

c. 1571

Artist:

Cornelis Cort (Netherlandish, 1533-before1578)
after Titian (Italian, c. 1488-1576)

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.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Cornelis Cort

Title

Tarquin and Lucretia

Place

Netherlands (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1566–1576

Medium

Engraving in black on ivory laid paper

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.)

Credit Line

Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston Endowment

Reference Number

2000.104

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

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.

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