An Interpretation Of The “Meta-Image” In Botticelli's The Stories Of Lucreti

The story of Lucretia is a late work of Botticelli.It depicts the story of Sextus Tarquinius,the son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus,the king of Rome,who plundered Tarquinius Collatinus ’s wife Lucretia with violence.Lucretia committed suicide in order to show her innocence,which aroused public anger.At the call of Brutus,the people had overthrown the dictatorship and established the Roman Republic.Although the painting appeared in the existing art history,there was no record of the painting in the inventories,archives,literature and other aspects at that time.The academic circles basically believe that the painting is one of paintings to decorate Giovanni Vespucci’s residence by recording to Vasari.Because the historical literature about this painting is almost blank,the examination of the painting can not be carried out from the perspective of traditional art history(Society and Culture).Turning the attention to the image structure of painting becomes the only way to enter it.According to the structural characteristics of the "meta-image" of the painting itself,that is,one painting contains another painting or image,this paper explores its unique structure,implication and its relationship with the painting itself.Based on the study of the internal "meta-image" in The story of Lucretia,the focus of the study also turns to the outside,another work of Botticelli The story of Virginia that also belongs to Botticelli’s late works.Its structure is similar to that of The story of Lucretia.The two paintings are often regarded as a series of paintings.Furthermore,on the basis of The story of Lucretia,this paper further investigates the relationship between the two paintings,that is,how the two paintings intertextuality as a series of paintings,resulting in the visual cognition of painting reflexivity.