Full title | The Rape of the Sabines (after the signal) |
---|---|
Artist | Domenico Morone |
Artist dates | about 1442 - after 1518 |
Series | Two Cassone Panels with the Rape of the Sabines |
Date made | about 1490 |
Medium and support | Tempera on spruce |
Dimensions | 45.4 x 49.2 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1886 |
Inventory number | NG1212 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
This is the second of two panels from a cassone (a large chest made for a domestic setting), which depict one of the founding stories of ancient Rome. When the Romans couldn't find wives, their leader Romulus came up with a devious plan: he invited the neighbouring Sabines to attend some celebratory games so that, at a given signal, the Romans could abduct the young Sabine women.
Romulus appears on a green dais in the centre of this picture: he has given the signal by standing up and drawing his cloak around him. The young men in his entourage are dragging away their guests, while others, presumably more Romans, seem to be rushing to join the action; one climbs a ladder to get up to the stands.
In spite of its unpromising start, the story ended peaceably: the Sabine women accepted their new husbands and persuaded their families to do so also. They were held up as examples of feminine peacemaking and appropriate role models for Renaissance wives.
This is the second of two panels from a cassone (a large chest made for a domestic setting). Cassoni were often associated with marriages, and were often decorated with relevant stories from classical literature, history and poetry. These two panels depict one of the founding stories of ancient Rome. When the Romans couldn't find wives, their leader Romulus came up with a devious plan: he invited the neighbouring Sabines to attend some celebratory games so that, at a given signal, the Romans could abduct the young Sabine women.
The first panel, The Rape of the Sabines (before the signal), shows the young Sabine women happily watching a joust. In this painting, Romulus, who appears on a green dais in the centre, has given the signal by standing up and drawing his cloak around him. The young men in his entourage have cast off their cloaks, which sit in two piles beside Romulus, and are dragging away their guests. Other men, presumably more Romans, seem to be rushing to join the action; one climbs a ladder to get up to the stands. In the foreground, a knight in armour on a white horse watches the scene, while his mounted squire hands his helmet to an assistant. Another rider, his sword drawn, charges away to the left, perhaps in pursuit of the fleeing Sabines, who were said to have run away when the trap was sprung.
In spite of its unpromising start, the story ended peaceably: the Sabine women accepted their new husbands and persuaded their families to do so also. They were held up as examples of feminine peacemaking and appropriate role models for Renaissance wives.
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The Rape of the Sabines (after the signal)
Two Cassone Panels with the Rape of the Sabines
These panels come from the front of a cassone, a large chest that was often painted with narrative scenes. Such chests were widely made throughout Italy from about 1400 to the early sixteenth century. They were often associated with marriages, and were one of the items of furniture that a groom was expected to acquire for his home in expectation of his bride.
The decoration of cassoni often reflected this link, providing what were felt to be examples of appropriate behaviour for husbands, wives and children, drawn from classical literature or history. The tale shown here, of how the early Romans abducted women when they couldn't find wives, was part of ancient Roman history. It was recounted by Livy and Plutarch, both of whom were translated into Italian in the fifteenth century.
The panels are painted on two horizontal planks of spruce. They have been cut along their side edges and may originally have been joined together.
These panels come from the front of a cassone, a large and highly decorative chest that was painted with narrative scenes. Such chests were widely made throughout Italy from about 1400 to the early sixteenth century. They were often associated with marriages, and were one of the items of furniture that a groom was expected to acquire for his home in expectation of his bride.
The decoration of cassoni often reflected this link, providing examples of what were felt to be appropriate behaviour for husbands, wives and children, drawn from classical literature or history, as in Cassone Panels with Scenes from the Life of Trajan. The tale shown here, of how the early Romans abducted women when they couldn't find wives, was part of ancient Roman history. It was recounted by Livy and Plutarch, both of whom were translated into Italian during the fifteenth century. Domenico Morone seems to have based his depiction on Plutarch, perhaps on Battista Alessandro Giaconello’s translation, published in Aquila in 1482.
The panels are painted on two horizontal planks of spruce. They have been cut along their side edges and may originally have been joined together. It’s hard to say how much has been lost, but their original dimensions were probably comparable with those of Dido’s Suicide by Liberale da Verona. It may be that the heraldry of the two families was shown on either side of the chest, with the new coat of arms of the bridal couple in the middle.


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