The Funeral of Lucretia

The Master of Marradi was an anonymous Florentine painter active around 1490–1510, named after the town of Marradi in the Mugello from which some of his works originated. The Funeral of Lucretia, now in the Metropolitan Museum, depicts the second act of the famous Roman legend: Lucretia, raped by Sextus Tarquinius, kills herself rather than live dishonored, and her funeral becomes the flashpoint for the revolt that ends the Roman monarchy. This subject, drawn from Livy and Ovid, was a favorite of Florentine humanists for its themes of virtuous sacrifice and republican liberty. The companion piece shows The Rape of Lucretia and together the two panels formed cassone or spalliera decoration for a Florentine patrician household, where they served as moral instruction combining classical narrative with civic values.

The Master of Marradi arranges the funeral procession in the shallow frieze-like composition typical of cassone painting, where narrative legibility takes precedence over spatial depth. Figures are painted with a simplified linearity that preserves older Florentine decorative traditions, and the warm tonality balances solemnity with the festive quality of cassone color conventions.