Lucretia

Rembrandt van Rijn, Lucretia, 1666. The Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minnesota, oil on canvas.

Tristen Krumenauer:

In a time where women were oppressed and disrespected, Lucretia’s tale reflects the tragedies that women faced in the past, however, like many other myths, this is used to convey a domino effect where the tyrant Sextus Tarquinius is killed and the Roman Republic is established.

The selected piece is an oil painting created by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn in 1666 as addressed in the archive by the Artstor Digital Library. The source also included that the painting currently resides in the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Although it was not Rembrandt’s most recognized work, to people who know of Lucretia’s story, it is a vibrant depiction of her story.

As described in “Classical Mythology” by Morford and others, the story of Lucretia or “the Rape of Lucretia,” which is more popularly restated by Livy, is a devastating tragedy that portrays the violation of an innocent woman that eventually leads to the downfall of the Roman monarchy and the establishment of the Republic (700). Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome, wanted to lay siege on Ardea, and during a rest from the fighting, his eldest son Sextus Tarquinius and his companions argued over who had the “best” wife (Morford 700). A man named Collatinus suggested they compared their wives by going home to see what their wives were doing as explained by Morford (700). It is further told that Sextus Tarquinius became infatuated with Collatinus’ wife Lucretia and proceeded to rape her in private. This led to Lucretia committing suicide but not before revealing who the perpetrator was to her father, father’s friend, husband, and husband’s friend (Morford 701). Her husband’s friend Brutus decides to avenge her with the same knife she used to end her life, which he later does (Morford 701). Because of that, there is no bloodline to continue the Roman monarchy, so that led to the formation of the Roman Republic.

This piece I found quite interesting compared to the other paintings because Lucretia’s expression appeared more emotional compared to others. Rembrandt truly captured the emotional turmoil that Lucretia faced as a woman who is depicted as having an “innocent mind” facing such cruelty. She spent her time spinning with the maidservants compared to the other wives who were living luxuriously (Morford 700). Similar to many other Roman stories, a positive outcome is caused by the torment of an innocent victim. This is an interesting take especially with Lucretia because her death was portrayed as a “noble” act for that time because she did not want to be used as an excuse for other women to commit adultery (Morford 701). However, I find this to be truly devastating as Lucretia committed no wrongdoings, and I believe that Rembrandt showed more the brutality and sickness of her story rather than a romanticization of it. It is a sad tragedy that Lucretia committed suicide after her assault to still be deemed as “noble” and “innocent” to the Romans.

Gianluca Shinn:

During the time of the Holy Roman Empire, female sexual promiscuity was looked down upon by its citizens. The historical account of Lucretia and her hardships show the Roman theme of respecting honor and virtue. “Lucretia became a figure of reverence and inspiration for Roman women, who were expected to model themselves after her virtues (Morford 190)  Thus without it, chaos can ensue.

As the story goes, Lucretia is subsequently raped by Sextus Tarquinious. Then, Lucretia's rape and suicide were used as a political tool to mobilize the Roman people against the Tarquins” (Morford 190). The people of rome used the rape of this innocent virtuous woman to overthrow the Tarquins and then eventually establish the Roman Republic. “Lucretia became a figure of reverence and inspiration for Roman women, who were expected to model themselves after her virtues” (Morford 190). The women of Rome used the story of Lucretia to resist any attempts to violate their chastity, innocence and honor. Your reputation as a woman was extremely important to ancient roman societies. “The story of Lucretia, with its emphasis on virtue, morality, and the importance of women's honor, continued to be an important cultural touchstone throughout the history of Rome (Morford 344)”.

I think the idea of the woman of Rome looking up to Lucretia is really interesting. Ancient women in history were very coveted for their virginity, innocence and virtue. A lot of ancient civilizations and societies were very protective of their women and hardly let them out of their sight. I am paraphrasing here but I learned this from one of my previous CLAS professors, Sarah Stroup. She stated that it was really important for ancient women to stay in the house and almost seldom go outside, this was because it ensured their virginity. With a woman's virginity ensured, her value to potential suitors was increased. Ancient men took great pride in their sons as that was the only way to pass on their legacy. So the man had to be absolutely sure that when he got his wife pregnant, that was indeed his own offspring. Thus, a woman who did not keep her dignity, and virtues, was almost seen as not worth as much.

The piece we selected was painted in 1666 by Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn and depicts her eventual suicide. First, Van Rijin portrays Lucretia as a virtuous and noble figure while emphasizing honor and dignity. She holds a dagger on her with an almost somber, cold and emotionless facial expression. This represents that she is doing this terrible act deliberately in service of her virtue and honor.