Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi... Drawing by Johannes Stradanus (c. 1580-1605).
Copyright H.E. Queen Elizabeth, Royal Collection acc. no. RCIN 904762.
Johannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straat; 1523-1605) was an artist who was born in Bruges, Belgium, and who died in Florence, Italy. This pen and ink drawing shows Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, together with her female companions, engaged in various forms of textile production and needlework. The drawing measures 19.9 x 27.5 cm.
The women are seated in an elaborately ornamented room. The women are working embroidery, spinning threads, working needle point and bobbin lace. The woman at the spinning wheel may be Cornelia, the daughter of Scipio Africanus and the wife of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus.
Royal Collection online catalogue (retrieved 21 September 2016).
WV
