1535, Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi), The Vestal Claudia Quinta and the Statue of Cybele -- Palazzo Barberini (Rome)
From the museum label: This picture, along with its companion piece The Metamorphosis of Pico, is listed in an inventory of Cardinal Antonio Barberini's property drafted in 1671. It recounts the prodigious deeds of the Vestal Virgin Claudia Quinta. On being accused of losing her chastity through taking an excessive interest in her physical appearance, she sought to prove her innocence by refloating a ship bringing the statue of Cybele to Latium (Ovid, Fasti IV: 291-328). The slender Claudia turns her back to us as she performs the miracle, seemingly without effort. A group of dignitaries looks on while a band of musicians heralds the statue's festive entry into Rome (the city in the background). In the distance, some men are celebrating a sacrifice. This exhortation to a future bride's chastity is amply repaid by her husband's faithfulness (The Metamorphosis of Pico), the foundation stone of every successful marriage.
1535, Garofalo (Benvenuto Tisi), The Vestal Claudia Quinta and the Statue of Cybele -- Palazzo Barberini (Rome)
From the museum label: This picture, along with its companion piece The Metamorphosis of Pico, is listed in an inventory of Cardinal Antonio Barberini's property drafted in 1671. It recounts the prodigious deeds of the Vestal Virgin Claudia Quinta. On being accused of losing her chastity through taking an excessive interest in her physical appearance, she sought to prove her innocence by refloating a ship bringing the statue of Cybele to Latium (Ovid, Fasti IV: 291-328). The slender Claudia turns her back to us as she performs the miracle, seemingly without effort. A group of dignitaries looks on while a band of musicians heralds the statue's festive entry into Rome (the city in the background). In the distance, some men are celebrating a sacrifice. This exhortation to a future bride's chastity is amply repaid by her husband's faithfulness (The Metamorphosis of Pico), the foundation stone of every successful marriage.