Art Institute of Chicago

Tarquin and Lucretia

Tintoretto (Jacopo Robusti; Italian, 1518-1594)LinkedCulture matchlcp-44b9ca46a559

Date: 1578–80
Medium: Oil on canvas
Culture: Italy
Department: Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 64920

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

According to Roman history, the rape of the virtuous matron Lucretia by Tarquin, son of the Roman king, incited the people to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic around 510 BCE. Lucretia was hailed as a hero for subsequently committing suicide in an attempt to avoid any perceived dishonor to her family. Tintoretto depicted one of the most violent moments of the story with his characteristic expressive distortions of anatomy and space and vibrant treatment of light: As Tarquin and Lucretia struggle, a pillow flies through the air, her pearl necklace breaks apart, and the fabric and carved posts of the bed’s canopy collapse around them.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Art Institute Purchase Fund
Provenance: Possibly Antonio Tronsarelli, Rome (died 1601) ["Un quadro grande in tela colorito a olio di Tarquinio quando Viola Lucretia di mano del Tentoretto (sic)"; see Matteo Lafranconi, "Antonio Tronsarelli: A Roman collector of the late sixteenth century," Burlington Magazine 140 (1998), p. 545, no. (5)]. Private collection, France [according to Illustrated London News, 4 December 1937]. Robert Lebel, Paris, by 1937 [Illustrated London News, 4 December 1937]. Richard Goetz, Paris and New York, by 1939 [1939 Knoedler exh. cat.]. Sold by E. and A. Silberman Galleries, New York, to the Art Institute, 1949.