The story of Lucretia is a historical legend that grew from Roman folklore about a Roman wife whose rape by an Entruscan king’s son played a vital role in the anti-monarchist rebellion that changed the Roman Kingdom into the Roman Republic. The story has appeared throughout history, beginning with Ovid and St Augustine, later to be taken up by Chaucer, Shakespeare and Machiavelli. She has been painted by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian and most significantly for Gottlieb, Rembrandt. Since early beginnings Gottlieb has seen Rembrandt’s work to be a boundless source of inspiration and teaching. In this painting, Lucretia’s beauty is luminously captured in the delicate translucent flesh tones that Gottlieb is known so well for, and the vivid sparkling fire of her hair. She holds a knife in which a single drop of blood hints at the tragedy to come when she takes her own life.
