Portie fille de caton marcuse · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: Portie fille de caton marcuse
Subject: Famous Women; Portia; Noble Women; Brutus; Julius Caesar; Conspiracies; Assassination; Important Women
Period: 1450-1500;
Geographic: Italy; Ancient Rome
Description: This illumination depicts a portrait of Portia, the daughter of Marcus Cato and wife of Brutus. Brutus was one of the people involved in the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar. When Brutus told Portia of the conspiracy, she takes a barber’s knife and stabs her foot with it. She does this to prepare herself in case she has to kill herself should the conspiracy not work out in Brutus’ favour. Portia is depicted holding the razor in her hand in this image. She eventually kills herself by swallowing hot coals when she finds out that Brutus had died.
Image Creator: Robinet Testard (Illuminator)
Type: Text; Illumination
Identifier: mta:18091
Language: frm
Source Name: Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme [Boccaccio, The cleric and noble women, anonymous French translation]
Parent Collection: Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme. Illuminations by Robinet Testard (1488-1496); Boccace, Des cleres et nobles femmes, traduction française anonyme. Illuminations by Robinet Testard (1488-1496)
Image: mta_18091_OBJ.png
Collection: Early Modern Women
Subject: Famous Women; Portia; Noble Women; Brutus; Julius Caesar; Conspiracies; Assassination; Important Women