Abduction of the Sabine Women 1638

Nicolas Poussin painted "Abduction of the Sabine Women," a large oil on canvas, sometime in the 17th century. Poussin, a Frenchman working in Rome, would have been steeped in the stories of the classical world, which served as not only an aesthetic ideal, but also a set of narratives used to justify power. In this dramatic scene, we see the legendary founding of Rome through a story of violence against women. The Romans, lacking women, invited the neighboring Sabines to a festival, only to then kidnap their women. What does it mean to build a civilization on such an act? Poussin's painting invites us to reflect on how historical narratives, often told from a male perspective, can obscure the experiences and perspectives of women, reducing them to objects in a power struggle. The painting is a stark reminder that history is not a neutral recounting of events, but rather a constructed narrative that reflects the values and biases of those in power.