Zenobia 1620 - 1664

Stefano della Bella created this small etching of Zenobia, the Queen of Palmyra, sometime between 1610 and 1664. During this period, European artists frequently depicted powerful female figures from history, and Zenobia, who led a revolt against the Roman Empire, became a popular symbol of female strength and resistance. Zenobia, as imagined here, is a woman on horseback, a visual trope designed to amplify her power. The text beneath the image states that she was beautiful and chaste, knew languages and history, and led her two sons in war – suggesting that she possessed both feminine virtues and masculine prowess. The inscription’s final line, ‘and she instructed them herself’ implies her personal investment in shaping the future. What can we learn from this celebration of Zenobia by a male artist? Perhaps this image speaks to the complex ways in which early modern European society viewed female leadership. It acknowledges female authority while confining it to the distant past.