Artistic Representations
During the Renaissance the subject was popular as a story symbolising the central importance of marriage for the continuity of families and cultures. It was also a rare example of a battle subject, a highly popular genre, which allowed the artist to demonstrate his virtuosity in the depiction of female as well as male figures in extreme poses, with the added advantages of a titillating sexual theme. As such it was depicted regularly on 15th-century Italian cassoni, and later in larger paintings. A comparable opportunity drawn from the New Testament was afforded by the theme of the Massacre of the Innocents.
Important treatments of the subject include:
Read more about this topic: The Rape Of The Sabine Women
Famous quotes containing the word artistic:
“If a man is a good lawyer, a good physician, a good engineer ... he may be a fool in every other capacity. But no deficiency or mistake of judgment is forgiven to a woman ... and should she fail anywhere, if she has any scientific attainment, or artistic faculty, instead of standing her interest as an excuse, it is censured as an aggravation and offence.”
—E.P.P., U.S. women’s magazine contributor. The Una, p. 28 ( February 1855)