Friday, November 2, 2012

A Classical Mother

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.

2 comments:

  1. very good painting .. and sure a classical mother!!

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  2. Apparently 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...

    Fairly heavy-handed moralizing, but a lesson typical of the times!

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