THE INTERVENTION OF THE SABINE WOMEN

The Intervention of the Sabine Women (1799) – Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David   was a French neoclassical painter, widely regarded as the leading French artist of his time. This painting revolves around Roman mythology.

According to legend, the Romans sought wives to start their families shortly after the foundation of Rome, but they were unsuccessful in negotiating with the Sabines, who inhabited the surrounding area.
They then carried out a mass kidnapping of young women, an episode known as the Rape / Kidnapping of Sabine Women. After the 15th century, depictions of the incident became common in art. In this painting, David represents the aftermath of the incident in which the women intervened to reconcile the warring parties.

Here, Hersilia, the wife of Romulus and the daughter of Titus Tatius, the leader of the Sabines, intervenes between her father and her mother, bringing her children between the warring leaders. The intervention of the Sabine Women was also relevant for the time when the idea of love prevailed over the conflict after the bloodshed of the French Revolution was put forward.