Full title | The Rape of the Sabines |
---|---|
Artist | Giulio Licinio |
Artist dates | about 1527; died after 1584 |
Series | Scenes from Ancient Roman History |
Date made | after 1566 |
Medium and support | Oil on canvas, transferred from wood |
Dimensions | 35.6 x 153 cm |
Acquisition credit | Bought, 1860 |
Inventory number | NG644.1 |
Location | Not on display |
Collection | Main Collection |
The Rape of the Sabines is one of a series of paintings that show scenes from ancient Roman history. They were probably intended to be inserted into wall panelling. Three other pictures in the series are in the National Gallery’s collection: The Attack on Cartagena,The Continence of Scipio and The Intervention of the Sabine Women.
Shortly after the founding of Rome, the Romans tried to negotiate with the Sabines, who lived in the surrounding region, to secure wives, but the Sabines refused to allow their women to marry the Romans. The Romans then organised a festival to Neptune, and invited the Sabines. In Licinio’s painting, music is played on pipes as sacrifices are made at the altar of Neptune before crowds of visitors. As Romulus gives the order from his throne, the Roman soldiers on the right grab the Sabine women who struggle for freedom as the Romans fight off the Sabine men.
The Rape of the Sabines is one of a series of paintings that show scenes from ancient Roman history. They were made to decorate a room and were originally painted on panel, although they have since been transferred to canvas. Their size and horizontal format suggests they were probably intended to be inserted into the wall panelling, as was common practice in Renaissance Venice.
Three other pictures in the series are in the National Gallery’s collection: The Attack on Cartagena, The Continence of Scipio and The Intervention of the Sabine Women. A further two pictures from the series, Coriolanus and Scipio rewarding the Soldiers, are in a private collection.
The Roman author Livy relates an episode in which the men of Rome abducted women from the neighbouring cities of the region. The event was said to have happened shortly after the founding of Rome by Romulus and his mainly male followers. The Romans tried to negotiate with the Sabines, who lived in the surrounding region, to secure wives to start families, but the Sabines refused to allow their women to marry the Romans.
According to Livy, the Romans planned a festival of Neptune to attract visitors from all the nearby towns. In Licinio’s painting, music is played on pipes as sacrifices are made at the altar of Neptune before crowds of visitors. A man raises his sword to behead the ox that has been pulled down to the ground before the altar. The monuments, fountains and obelisks of ancient Rome appear in the background. As Romulus gives the order from his throne, the Roman soldiers on the right grab the Sabine women who writhe and struggle for freedom as the Romans fight off the Sabine men. A dagger is drawn as a young woman is dragged from her father’s arms. Panic spreads to the crowd around the altar as women, guarded by their menfolk, search in vain for safety. Although the panel is darkened by discoloured varnish, it still conveys a strong and moving sense of the trauma and chaos of the moment.
Livy says that Romulus offered free choice and civic and property rights to the women. The Sabines finally declared war on the Romans but the two sides were held apart by the Sabine women, who said they would rather die themselves than see their husbands and fathers at war with one another. This part of the story is depicted in The Intervention of the Sabine Women.
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Scenes from Ancient Roman History
These four pictures are from a series of paintings of scenes from ancient Roman history. They were made for the decoration of a room and were originally painted on panel but have since been transferred to canvas. Their size and horizontal format suggests they were probably intended to be inserted into wall panelling, as was common practice in Renaissance Venice.
The pictures in the National Gallery’s collection show: The Attack on Cartagena; The Continence of Scipio; The Rape of the Sabines; and The Intervention of the Sabine Women. Two other pictures from the same series, Coriolanus and Scipio rewarding the Soldiers, are in a private collection.
These four pictures are from a series of paintings by Giulio Licinio showing scenes from ancient Roman history. They were made for the decoration of a room and were originally painted on panel but have since been transferred to canvas. Their size and horizontal format suggests they were probably intended to be inserted into wall panelling, as was common practice in Renaissance Venice.
The Attack on Cartagena depicts a famous Roman victory by Scipio Africanus over the Carthaginians during the Second Punic War. The Continence of Scipio records Scipio’s mercy as a military leader when he refused a ransom for a female prisoner and returned her safely to her family. The Rape of the Sabines shows a scene from ancient Roman legend, when the men of newly founded Rome abducted women from the neighbouring Sabine nation. The Intervention of the Sabine Women depicts the heroic attempt by the Sabine women to end the war between their Sabine fathers and Roman husbands and bring both sides to peace. There are also two other pictures from the same series in a private collection: Coriolanus and Scipio rewarding the Soldiers. There may originally have been more paintings in the series which are lost.
The Rape of the Sabines and the Intervention of the Sabines are both covered with a discoloured varnish which affects their appearance. Licinio’s approach to colour and the original appearance of this series of paintings can be more easily appreciated in The Attack on Cartagena and The Continence of Scipio.




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