3-093-470 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Death of the Daughter of Spurius Tarpeus, 1640. When the city was founded it had only male inhabitants and neighbouring tribes refused to give their women in marriage. The Romans organized a feast to which they invited their neighbours, the Sabines, and at the height of the festivities abducted all the girls. In the foreground we can see the tumbled, intertwined figures of warriors and women, set against a pearly-grey fountain, its whimsical forms echoing the typical park architecture of the 17th century.