This double portrait represents Messalina, wife of the emperor Claudius (41-54 CE), with her young son Britannicus. Messalina was notorious for her wantonness and ascendancy over her husband; here, she is portrayed as a respectable Roman matron, in a work comparing her directly with a Greek goddess: the mother and child image was inspired by a famous sculptural group of Eirene and Ploutos (Peace and Wealth), created by the Greek sculptor Kephisodotos during the fourth century BCE. (Source: Louvre Museum [website]; http://www.louvre.fr/)
work_description_source
This double portrait represents Messalina, wife of the emperor Claudius (41-54 CE), with her young son Britannicus. Messalina was notorious for her wantonness and ascendancy over her husband; here, she is portrayed as a respectable Roman matron, in a work comparing her directly with a Greek goddess: the mother and child image was inspired by a famous sculptural group of Eirene and Ploutos (Peace and Wealth), created by the Greek sculptor Kephisodotos during the fourth century BCE. (Source: Louvre Museum [website]; http://www.louvre.fr/)
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