Het gezin van keizer Caius vermoord 1804

Reinier Vinkeles made this drawing of "The family of Emperor Caius murdered" with pen and gray ink around 1760-1790. The image depicts the assassination of the Roman Emperor Caligula, or Caius, and his family. As an eighteenth-century Dutch artist, Vinkeles looked back to classical antiquity for subject matter that could comment on the politics of his own time. His dramatic composition draws on the visual codes of history painting to portray the moment of the emperor’s death as a political act. Consider the institutional context of this drawing. It now resides in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It invites us to consider how collections shape our understanding of the past and present. Access to historical archives and art collections like this one allows us to explore the complex relationship between art, power, and historical interpretation. We can analyze how art reflects and shapes the cultural values of its time, and how it continues to resonate with audiences today.