The rape of the Sabine women is the subject of two paintings by the French painter Nicolas Poussin, made between 1634 and 1638. They depict a mythological scene taken from the work of Plutarch and Livy, which tells how the Romans seized the Sabine women to take them as wives. These works are considered as masterpieces of classicism, by their compositional rigor and their colorful harmony.
Historical context
The abduction of the Sabine women has its origin in a legend that dates back to the origins of Rome. According to tradition, Romulus, the founder of the city, organized games in honor of the god Neptune, to which he invited the neighboring peoples, including the Sabines. Taking advantage of the feast, the Romans abducted the Sabine women who had come to watch the show, in order to remedy the lack of women in their nascent city.
The Sabines, outraged by this affront, declared war on the Romans and marched against them. After several battles, the two armies faced each other on Mount Quirinal. It was then that the abducted Sabines intervened and threw themselves between the belligerents, imploring their fathers and husbands to stop the carnage. Touched by their courage and piety, the Romans and Sabines made peace and united in one people.
Analysis of the painting
The abduction of the Sabine women is an oil on canvas of large dimensions (154 × 206 cm for the first version preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; 159 × 206 cm for the second version exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris). Poussin made these paintings in Rome, where he stayed for most of his career. He was inspired by ancient sources and artistic models from the Italian Renaissance to compose his works.
The painting depicts the moment when Romulus gives the signal for the abduction, by raising his red cloak. The Roman soldiers then rush on the Sabine women who try to flee or resist. The scene is animated by a circular movement that starts from the center and spreads to the edges. The characters are arranged according to a pyramidal structure that gives stability and clarity to the whole.
Poussin used a palette of sober and harmonious colors, which highlight the contrasts between drapes and flesh. He also played on light and shadow effects to create relief and dynamism. He especially emphasized expressions and gestures of characters, which he painted with striking realism and great anatomical precision.
Interpretation
The abduction of the Sabine women is a work that reflects Poussin’s classical and humanist vision, who seeks to reconcile ideal beauty and historical truth. Poussin chose to represent not the peaceful outcome of history, but rather its most dramatic and violent moment. He thus created a tension between order and disorder, between reason and passion.
Poussin also expressed his sensitivity and admiration for victims of abduction, whom he represented with dignity and humanity. He paid tribute to their beauty and virtue in face of aggression and injustice. He also introduced a moral dimension into his painting, by showing that abduction of Sabine women was at origin of foundation of a great civilization.
The abduction of Sabine women is a work that illustrates style and themes of classicism, an artistic movement that sought to imitate nature and antiquity by representation of noble or heroic subjects. Poussin was able to translate with force and elegance myth of abduction of Sabine women in these remarkable paintings.
