Plate 32: Thisbe Killing Herself (Thisbe Pyrami exemplum aemulata pectus sibi trasuerberat), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' 1606

Antonio Tempesta etched this plate from Ovid's Metamorphoses around 1600, capturing Thisbe's tragic suicide. The sword, piercing her breast, is more than a weapon; it is a symbol of profound despair and devotion. This motif of self-inflicted wounds echoes through art history. Lucretia's suicide in Renaissance art, for example, shares a similar iconography of honor and sacrifice. The act of piercing oneself becomes a visual shorthand for ultimate loyalty and the depths of human emotion. Consider the psychological weight of this image. Suicide, often a taboo subject, here becomes a public spectacle, a demonstration of love's destructive power. It is a raw display, tapping into our collective fears and fascinations with death and the afterlife. The image of the weapon has resurfaced across cultures, evolving from a symbol of immediate action to a complex emotional statement.