The Wife of Hasdrubal and Her Children

The Wife of Hasdrubal and Her Children is a painting of c. 1490–1493 in tempera on panel by Ercole de' Roberti in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which acquired it in 1965.[1]

The Wife of Hasdrubal and Her Children
ArtistErcole de' Roberti
Yearc. 1490–1493
MediumTempera on poplar panel
Dimensions47.3 cm × 30.6 cm (18.6 in × 12.0 in)
LocationNational Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This panel, Brutus, Lucretia and Collatinus and Brutus and Portia were originally part of a series of works depicting famous women of antiquity, probably commissioned by Ercole I d'Este's wife Eleanor of Aragon and referring back to the motto of her father, Ferdinand I of Naples: "Preferisco la morte al disonore" ('I prefer death to dishonor').[2]

The painting shows the wife of Hasdrubal, the Carthaginian commander. Valerius Maximus's Acts and Memorable Deeds of the Ancient Romans states that Hasdrubal headed around 50,000 men who surrendered to Scipio Africanus during the Battle of Carthage, in punishment for which she sacrificed their sons in a burning temple before throwing herself into the flames.

References

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  1. ^ Catalogue entry
  2. ^ Fern Rusk Shapley, Catalogue of the Italian Paintings, 2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1979: 1:410
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