Home

Works of Art

 

Works of Art

European Paintings: All

Work 2,091 of 2,421
Add to my Met GalleryAdd to My Met Gallery PrintPrint List ViewPrevious View
This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
* This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
Eustache Le Sueur (French, 1616–1655)
The Rape of Tamar
probably ca. 1640
Oil on canvas
74 1/2 x 63 1/2 in. (189.2 x 161.3 cm)
Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, 1984
1984.342
The subject of the picture, previously identified as Tarquin and Lucretia, seems rather to show Tamar being raped by her brother, Amnon. According to II Samuel 13:1–22, Amnon, a son of David, fell in love with his sister Tamar. With a friend he conceived of a ruse whereby he feigned illness and requested that his sister attend him. When alone, he turned on her and raped her. Overcome with revulsion for what he had done, he then had her expulsed from the bedchamber. Their brother, Absalom, discovered the deed and had Amnon slain.

The picture was painted by Le Sueur when he was still deeply influenced by his teacher, Simon Vouet, and it probably dates from about 1640. Such details as the richly brocaded curtain and the elaborate gold urn in the background were, indeed, standard props in Vouet's paintings. Le Sueur was later to work in the Hôtel Lambert in Paris, designed by Le Vau, but this picture suggests that he was already familiar with details of Le Vau's architectural vocabulary.