The Rape of the Sabines

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Notes

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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 National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Rape of the Sabines

Date

about 1555-75

Medium

Oil on canvas, transferred from wood

Measurements

H 35.6 x W 153 cm

Accession number

NG644.1

Acquisition method

Bought, 1860

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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