The Tragedy Of Lucretia, By Botticelli

The story of Lucretia and her subsequent tragedy is a reflection on women’s position in Roman society and how they were treated. This story both offers some historical context to the modern Latin learner but also teaches a very valuable lesson. While many women were seen as less than men during this time period, Livy’s description of Lucretia’s rape and Brutus’s plan to avenge her honor offers a different perspective. As an artistic representation of this piece, Botticelli’s The Tragedy of Lucretia is a remarkably poignant and powerful painting which depicts Brutus’s attempt to rally the men after Lucretia’s death.

The colors in this painting are also significant and express what is important in the painting. The majority of the painting
is done in primary colors, which are red, blue, and yellow. The floor and some of the walls are red, the buildings are shades of yellows (with some accents in tan), and the sky is blue. The people however are a variety of colors; Lucretia is even clothed in green, which also helps to draw the viewer’s eyes to her lifeless form. Most of the soldiers are wearing some piece of clothing that is a darker red and a richer color than what is in the rest of the painting.

But the most important aspect of this painting is the position of the people and structures in this painting which greatly affect its perception. This painting appears almost completely symmetrical except for in the middle where Lucretia lies. This asymmetry contrasts the rest of the painting and pulls the viewer’s eyes to Lucretia and solidifies her as the subject of the painting. It also signifies the sense of chaos that Lucretia’s death brings and that this is an abnormal occurrence. Also all of the buildings in this painting are tall and completely straight up and down. The people in the painting also mimic this position except for Lucretia, who lies horizontally. Finally, Brutus’s position and body language suggest that he cared for Lucretia and that he is going to avenge her death. Even though he is standing above her, instead of looking out into the crowd, his head is tilted down and looking at Lucretia. He is the tallest person in the picture which suggests his leadership position. Also he appears to be in military attire with his sword drawn, which alludes to both his anger at her death and his plan to get revenge on Sextus Tarquinius.