Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi (1785) by the Swiss/Austrian painter Maria Anna Angelica Catharina Kauffmann. As a women Kauffmann painted here a female heroine, Cornelia who was considered responsible for the education of her sons who became later very important politicians.
very good painting .. and sure a classical mother!!
ReplyDeleteApparently this event unfolded in the 2nd century BCE, when a woman visitor had been showing Cornelia her jewels and then asked to see Cornelia's in return. She responded that her children were her jewels...
ReplyDeleteFairly heavy-handed moralizing, but a lesson typical of the times!