Dood van Lucretia 1670 - 1724

Jacob Gole etched this print of Lucretia, a Roman noblewoman, sometime between 1660 and 1737. Here, Lucretia’s suicide becomes an emblem of virtue, forever memorialized with the cold steel that sealed her fate. But consider the dagger—a symbol of resolution, or desperation—it reappears throughout art history. We see Judith wielding a similar blade, and Salome, each claiming power through violent acts. The Greeks used the ‘dory’ or spear in similar ways, a symbol of power and authority, particularly when held by male figures. Over time, the psychoanalytic weight of this symbol has changed: once a mark of authority, it becomes an instrument of female agency, a reaction against perceived injustices. This moment captured by Gole touches something primal, a cultural memory of defiance and despair, urging us to reconsider how symbols evolve and embed themselves in our collective psyche.