Where can I see The Rape of the Sabine Women?

The Rape of the Sabine Women is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

What movement is The Rape of the Sabine Women?

The Rape of the Sabine Women is associated with Early Baroque Italian.

Artwork

The Rape of the Sabine Women

The Rape of the Sabine Women is an oil painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Luca Giordano. It dates from 1688 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting depicts the rape of the Sabine women, a foundational episode drawn from early Roman mythology in which the men of Romulus abducted women from the neighboring Sabine people to populate the newly founded city. Luca Giordano treats the subject as a mythological scene, staging it as a violent abduction in which Sabine women are seized and carried off by Roman warriors amid chaos and struggle.

The episode carried layered meanings for seventeenth-century viewers: it functioned as a classical origin myth for Rome, a moralizing cautionary tale about the brutal foundations of civic order, and a dramatic showcase for the human figure in motion. By framing the abduction as a mythological subject rather than a contemporary event, Giordano allowed the narrative to operate simultaneously as history, allegory of state-formation, and virtuoso display of dynamic composition.

Technique & Style

Executed in 1676, this mythological painting by Luca Giordano utilizes oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work presents a large-scale composition, measuring 188 cm in height and 231 cm in width. As a depiction of the abduction of the Sabine women, the piece exemplifies the artist's engagement with dramatic narrative subjects typical of the genre during this period.

History & Provenance

The provided sources confirm its location within this specific museum but do not list a specific inventory or accession number.

The Rape of the Sabine Women was painted by Luca Giordano in 1676, as indicated by the work’s inception date. Executed in oil on canvas, the painting entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it is presently housed. The work measures approximately 188 cm in height and 231 cm in width and is classified as a mythological painting. No earlier ownership records or commission details are provided in the available sources.

The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen. Created in 1676, the work measures 1880 cm in height and 2310 cm in width. The provided sources confirm its location within this specific museum but do not list a specific inventory or accession number. Furthermore, no details regarding the exhibition history of this artwork are included in the available records.

Overview

The Rape of the Sabine Women is an oil painting by Luca Giordano, created in 1688. It is a representation of a mythological scene and is currently held at the Statens Museum for Kunst.

Artist & collection

Artist

Luca Giordano

Luca Giordano was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Giordano was one of the most celebrated artists of the Neapolitan Baroque, whose vast output included altarpieces, mythological paintings and…