Verkrachting van Lucretia 1578 - 1580

Hendrick Goltzius created this engraving, “The Rape of Lucretia,” sometime in the late 16th century. It depicts a scene from Roman history, a moment of sexual violence that led to political upheaval. Goltzius, working in the Netherlands during the late Renaissance, grapples with classical themes through a distinctly Northern European lens. Lucretia, the virtuous noblewoman, is shown here as vulnerable, her body exposed and her expression conveying terror. The male figure, Tarquin, is rendered with a harsh, almost animalistic intensity, his forceful entry disrupting the domestic sphere. This depiction exists within a long art historical tradition that often romanticizes or eroticizes such scenes, yet here, there’s a starkness that confronts the viewer. What does it mean to represent such an act? Does it serve as a cautionary tale, or does it perpetuate the very violence it depicts? These questions are important as we consider how historical narratives continue to shape contemporary attitudes toward gender, power, and consent.