Simon Vouet - Suicide of Lucrece

• Title: Suicide of Lucrece
• Artist: Simon Vouet (1590-1649)
• Date: 1625
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 197 x 148 cm

"The Suicide of Lucrece" by Simon Vouet depicts the story of the wife of the Roman noble Tarquinius Collatinus, raped by the son of the last Roman king of Etruscan origin, Sextus Tarquinius. Trying to save her honor Lucrece subsequently committed suicide.

Vouet created this work during his sojourn in Rome between 1613 and 1627 where he studied the works of artists like Caravaggio and Veronese and worked with artists like Carracci, Guercino, Guido Reni and Artimesia Gentileschi.