O rapto das sabinas

This was painted in Rome around 1627 by Pietro da Cortona, then a young artist about to become the leading force of the new Baroque style, and you can already see what that meant. The composition runs along a strong diagonal, full of twisting, straining bodies and sudden movement, nothing calm or symmetrical about it. It was commissioned by the Sacchetti, a family of Florentine bankers who had recently moved to Rome and wanted art that announced their standing. The subject suited them. It shows the legend of Rome's founding, when the men of Romulus, short of women for their new city, seized the daughters of the neighbouring Sabines during a festival. A family staking its own claim on Rome had chosen the story of how Rome first filled itself.