BOTTICELLI, Sandro
(b. 1445, Firenze, d. 1510, Firenze)

The Story of Lucretia (detail)

1496-1504
Tempera and oil on panel
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Above the scene in which Lucretia is pestered by her rapist, Botticelli shows a relief featuring Judith, the biblical heroine who freed her people from Holofernes' siege. Both women, Lucretia and Judith, were considered to be republican symbols of freedom.