Tarquinius and Lucretia

Tarquinius and Lucretia, attributed to Palma but dating to 1590, likely postdates Palma Vecchio by decades and may be the work of Palma Giovane or another Venetian painter. The subject of the rape of Lucretia was a standard subject of Renaissance and Baroque painting that combined moral gravity with the depiction of female beauty and male violence. Characteristic of Vecchio's approach, the work displays rich, sensuous color, idealized female beauty, atmospheric sfumato in the Giorgionesque tradition.

The dramatic scene employs strong chiaroscuro and dynamic figure composition more characteristic of late 16th-century Venetian painting than Palma Vecchio's typically calm, luminous style.