3-044-461 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Beatrice, 1866. Julia Margaret Cameron's niece May Prinsep (1853-1931), who at age thirteen was one of several orphans adopted by Sara and Thoby Prinsep. The title of this work refers to a character from Percy Bysshe Shelley's play "The Cenci" (1819), which is based on the true story of a sixteenth-century Roman family. Beatrice Cenci was the daughter of Count Francesco Cenci, a tyrant who terrorized his wife and children. In retaliation for his abuse, Beatrice plotted with her stepmother and older brother to kill him. Though it's not completely clear who committed the actual murder, an investigation uncovered the involvement of two men along with the three Cenci family members. The two men died before being brought to the gallows. Beatrice, her stepmother, and older brother Giacamo were all executed on the tenth of September 1599. Only Beatrice's younger brother Bernardo was spared execution. As Beatrice, Prinsep wears a headdress, and her downcast eyes and wistful expression suggest that she is quietly resigned to the fate that awaits her.