The Rape of the Sabine Women | Narodna galerija

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This depiction of a motif from Plutarch’s Lives (II, 14) and the Annals (I, 9) of Titus Livius, shows the Romans kidnapping the women of the Sabines, so as to establish families and populate Rome, which had just been founded. The painting is signed and dated M. J. Schmidt / 1790 (1796?). The rich and lively composition is based on models from the Italian Baroque, in particular the works of Luca Giordano and Sebastiano Ricci; despite this the surroundings and the type of buildings, which suggest ancient Rome, are characterised by a classicistic emphasis which is typical of the level of development of Schmidt’s painting at that time.

Artist Martin Johann Schmidt

Year of creation 1790 (1796 (?))

Technique oil, canvas

Dimensions 94 x 117 cm

Inventory number NG S 1300, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana

Restored: 1957, ZSV, Ljubljana.
Provenance: Strahl collection, Stara Loka until 1930 (bought in Graz); purchased by the Narodna galerija, Ljubljana, 1930, old Inv. No. 477.
Exhibitions: 1930, Ljubljana, no catalogue; 1957, Ljubljana, No. 26; 1960, Ljubljana, No. 87; 1961, Ljubljana, no number; 1983, Ljubljana, No. 80.
Lit.: Steska 1898, p. 579; Steska 1909, p. 57; Steska 1927, p. 177; Polec 1930b, p. 175, Cat. No. 401 with Fig. (M. J. Schmidt 1790); Gaber 1931, p. 5; Mikuž 1941, p. 173; Dworschak et al. 1955, p. 273 (ca. 1781); Stele-Možina 1957a, p. 28, Cat. No. 26, Fig. 23 (no sign., ca. 1781); Stele-Možina 1957b, p. 29, Cat. No. 42 (no sign.); Cevc 1960, p. 36, Cat. No. 87 (no sign., ca. 1781); Cevc 1961, p. 32 (no sign.); Dobida 1961, p. 23; Pigler, II, 1974, p. 422 (Pigler’s question, whether the painting is identical to the picture sold in 1904 in Vienna, must be answered in the negative, since the size does not correspond); Zeri [& Rozman] 1983, pp. 151–152, Cat. No. 80, Fig. 79; Feuchtmüller 1989, pp. 528–529, Fig. 931.