Lucretia in art: green, propaganda and unsolved thefts
The green of Lucretia's dress in Botticelli's painting is no accident: it is political propaganda against the Medici. Meanwhile, Cranach mass-produced her and Dürer…
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Botticelli's Lucretia doesn't undress: green as political propaganda
Why does Lucretia, the Roman heroine, appear dressed in green in Botticelli's 1496 painting? The answer is not aesthetic: it is political. In the midst of Savonarola's Bonfire of the Vanities, Botticelli dresses the martyr in green, the colour of hope and civic regeneration, to sell republican virtue against the Medici. The work, held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, includes a statue of David beheading Goliath, another symbol against tyranny.
But the art of Lucretia does not stay in Florence. Lucas Cranach produced her in series —same face, same expression— like mannequins of virtue for the German nobility. Albrecht Dürer, on the other hand, painted a single oil version in 1518, now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, capturing the tension of the moment before the suicide with an expressiveness Cranach never achieved. The difference between a factory and a craftsman.
And while the Lucretias hang in museums, the Gardner is still waiting for its 13 works stolen in 1990, among them Vermeer's 'The Concert', valued at 250 million. Neither the FBI nor the 5 million reward has found them. The Simpsons already predicted it in 2010: Mr Burns with the painting in his office. Ironies of pop culture: sometimes fiction is faster than justice.
Why does Lucretia, the Roman heroine, appear dressed in green in Botticelli's 1496 painting? The answer is not aesthetic: it is political. In the midst of Savonarola's Bonfire of the Vanities, Botticelli dresses the martyr in green, the colour of hope and civic regeneration, to sell republican virtue against the Medici. The work, held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, includes a statue of David beheading Goliath, another symbol against tyranny.
But the art of Lucretia does not stay in Florence. Lucas Cranach produced her in series —same face, same expression— like mannequins of virtue for the German nobility. Albrecht Dürer, on the other hand, painted a single oil version in 1518, now in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, capturing the tension of the moment before the suicide with an expressiveness Cranach never achieved. The difference between a factory and a craftsman.
And while the Lucretias hang in museums, the Gardner is still waiting for its 13 works stolen in 1990, among them Vermeer's 'The Concert', valued at 250 million. Neither the FBI nor the 5 million reward has found them. The Simpsons already predicted it in 2010: Mr Burns with the painting in his office. Ironies of pop culture: sometimes fiction is faster than justice.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (47 replies).
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