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Nero Pauses for a Drink during the Mutilation of His Mother's Body

Creator

French Illuminator · 1390–1430

In the early 1400s, the Boucicaut Master was the leading master of manuscript illumination in Paris and one of the most influential artists working in the International style in northern Europe. The Boucicaut Master appears to have supervised a talented team of artists who produced manuscripts commissioned by the king of France, high-ranking aristocrats, and the wealthy bourgeoisie. He probably al

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Date: about 1413–1415
Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink
Culture: French
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum

Seated before the lifeless body of his mother Agrippina, the Roman Emperor Nero receives a chalice of wine from a kneeling servant. Nero had become emperor through the actions of Agrippina, who poisoned the emperor Claudius after convincing him to adopt Nero as his heir. Knowing she had made him emperor, Nero feared her power. Following an incestuous affair with her, he stripped her of her authority. After trying unsuccessfully to kill her several times, he finally sent a boat designed to sink to transport her to a party. The boat did sink, but she swam to shore. In desperation, Nero ordered a soldier to kill her. Without tears or any signs of sorrow, he examined, held, and caressed her dead and discolored corpse. He praised and cursed the various parts of her body. Then, while others cried, he asked for some wine. Drinking it, he looked at his mother and declared that she was beautiful.

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