Artwork
Portia and Brutus
Portia and Brutus is an oil painting by the Early Renaissance artist Ercole de' Roberti. It dates from 1494 and is held in the collection of the Cook collection.
About this work
Overview
Portia and Brutus is a tempera painting on panel created by Ercole de' Roberti around 1486–1490. It is now held in the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, having been acquired in 1986.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's assassin, and his wife Porcia. It was likely part of a series showing famous women from antiquity, referencing the motto 'Preferisco la morte al disonore' ('I prefer death to dishonor'), associated with Eleanor of Aragon, wife of Ercole I d'Este.
Technique & Style
The work is executed in tempera, a technique involving egg yolks mixed with pigment. The dark green background contrasts with the figures standing on a white floor. The couple is rendered in detail, with Brutus wearing a red coat and Porcia dressed in green with a gold head covering.
Artist & collection
Artist
Ercole de' Roberti was born in Ferrara around 1450 and trained under the painters Cosmè Tura and Francesco del Cossa, with whom he collaborated on frescoes at the Palazzo Schifanoia in 1470.
Portrait of a Woman with a Man at a Casement
A Bridal Couple
Judith with her servant
Flügelpaar: Die hll. Andreas und Agatha Außenseite: Maria der Verkündigung
Zurückweisung des Opfers Joachims und Annas
Heimsuchung Mariae zwischen St. Ursula mit den Zehntausend Jungfrauen und St. Martha. Aussenseiten der Flügel: Verkündigung Mariae
Annunciation
Heimsuchung Mariens
Saint Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalen
The Expectant Madonna with Saint Joseph
Brutus and Porcia