1494
oil
metal
From the collection of Cook collection
Portia and Brutus is a 1494 oil by Ercole de' Roberti, a Early Renaissance work, held at Cook collection.
This painting shows a man and a woman standing next to each other. The man is wearing a long red coat with a gray lining and a black shirt underneath. He has dark hair and is looking down at the woman. The woman is wearing a green dress with a red and purple top and a gold head covering. She has her hands out to the sides and is looking down. The background of the painting is dark green. The man and woman are standing on a white floor. The painting is done in tempera, a technique that uses egg yolks mixed with pigment. You can learn more about the artist who painted this, Ercole de'Roberti.
Brutus and Portia is a painting in tempera on panel of c. 1486–1490 by Ercole de' Roberti in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, which acquired it in 1986. It shows Caesar's assassin Marcus Junius Brutus and his wife Porcia. This panel, Brutus, Lucretia and Collatinus and The Wife of Hasdrubal and Her Children were originally part of a series of works depicting famous women of antiquity, probably commissioned by Ercole I d'Este's wife Eleanor of Aragon and referring back to the motto of her father, Ferdinand I of Naples: "Preferisco la morte al disonore" ('I prefer death to…
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The painting is based on a book. There are a few different books about this topic, each differing from each other in a minor way. The book that the painting is based on is unknown, but each book in the series keeps a similar theme. The characters in this painting are demonstrating themselves in an unusual way. Porta is opening her arms to the audience. This portrayal of the two characters shows us that they are in some kind of bad situation. The main focus of this painting is Portia. In this painting there are details that connect this work to some of his other pieces of work by Ercole de'…
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Portia is the wife to a man named Brutus. She gave birth to two children. Several studies suggest that her character was changed based on what the common belief was of women in this time period. Despite this, her character had aspects that were not common for women to have during this time period. Portia is also known for trying to get information that her husband, Brutus, possessed. She tried to use her ability of charm to receive the information previously stated. There is much debate weather Portia had a good ability to charm or not. The article says that some people say she had this…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Ercole de' Roberti was born in Ferrara around 1450 and trained under the painters Cosmè Tura and Francesco del Cossa, with whom he collaborated on frescoes at the Palazzo Schifanoia in 1470.
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