"According to the Roman historian Livy, Lucretia, the wife of a Roman
nobleman, was known for her virtue and loyalty. She was raped by Sextus
Tarquinius, the son of the ruling tyrant. The next day Lucretia
revealed the crime to her husband and father and, in their presence,
took her own life, choosing death over dishonor.
Rembrandt used the story of Lucretia as the subject for two of his most
moving paintings in which he represented two moments in the tragedy of
Lucretia's suicide. The first version, painted in 1664 and in the
collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, depicts
Lucretia just before she takes her life. This second version, painted
in 1666, portrays Lucretia moments after she had plunged the knife into
her heart." (From the Minneapolis Institute of Arts website). This version is part of the collection in the museum here in river city. Students often exercise their talents by painting in the museum.
What would Rembrandt think?
