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Lucrezia Borgia

Image credit: Tate

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Rossetti began work on this subject in 1860 at a time when he was especially interested in the history of the infamous Borgia family. In this watercolour Lucrezia Borgia washes her hands after poisoning her husband, Duke Alfonso Bisceglie. She is aided in the crime by her father, Pope Alexander IV. The reflection in the mirror shows him assisting the Duke to walk, thereby ensuring that the poison thoroughly infects the entire body. Many years after finishing the watercolour, Rossetti revised the details of Lucrezia's face.

Tate

Art UK Founder Partner

More information
Title

Lucrezia Borgia

Date

1860–1861

Medium

graphite & watercolour on paper

Measurements

H 43.8 x W 25.8 cm

Accession number

N03063

Acquisition method

presented in memory of Henry Michael Field by Charles Ricketts through the Art Fund, 1916

Work type

Drawing

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