Domenico Morone, 'The Rape of the Sabines (before the signal)', about 1490
Two Cassone Panels with the Rape of the Sabines
These panels come from the front of a cassone, a large chest that was often painted with narrative scenes. Such chests were widely made throughout Italy from about 1400 to the early sixteenth century. They were often associated with marriages, and were one of the items of furniture that a groom was expected to acquire for his home in expectation of his bride.
The decoration of cassoni often reflected this link, providing what were felt to be examples of appropriate behaviour for husbands, wives and children, drawn from classical literature or history. The tale shown here, of how the early Romans abducted women when they couldn't find wives, was part of ancient Roman history. It was recounted by Livy and Plutarch, both of whom were translated into Italian in the fifteenth century.
The panels are painted on two horizontal planks of spruce. They have been cut along their side edges and may originally have been joined together.
These panels come from the front of a cassone, a large and highly decorative chest that was painted with narrative scenes. Such chests were widely made throughout Italy from about 1400 to the early sixteenth century. They were often associated with marriages, and were one of the items of furniture that a groom was expected to acquire for his home in expectation of his bride.
The decoration of cassoni often reflected this link, providing examples of what were felt to be appropriate behaviour for husbands, wives and children, drawn from classical literature or history, as in Cassone Panels with Scenes from the Life of Trajan. The tale shown here, of how the early Romans abducted women when they couldn't find wives, was part of ancient Roman history. It was recounted by Livy and Plutarch, both of whom were translated into Italian during the fifteenth century. Domenico Morone seems to have based his depiction on Plutarch, perhaps on Battista Alessandro Giaconello’s translation, published in Aquila in 1482.
The panels are painted on two horizontal planks of spruce. They have been cut along their side edges and may originally have been joined together. It’s hard to say how much has been lost, but their original dimensions were probably comparable with those of Dido’s Suicide by Liberale da Verona. It may be that the heraldry of the two families was shown on either side of the chest, with the new coat of arms of the bridal couple in the middle.
