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The photographs:
Famous Men and Fair Women
Julia Margaret CAMERON
British, 1815–79
Beatrice Cenci (May Prinsep), 1870
albumen silver photograph
27.2 x 32.6cm
The Wilson Centre for Photography
99:6481
In 1599, Beatrice Cenci was executed for having conspired to kill her
aristocratic father, Francesco Cenci. According to the court reports,
Francesco, who had a reputation for debauchery and cruelty, had sexually
abused Beatrice. Along with her stepmother and brother, the young Beatrice
hired assassins to kill her father in a particularly brutal manner. The crime
was soon discovered and the conspirators admitted their guilt under torture.
As her trial progressed, many of Rome's citizens were appalled by the
revelations of Francesco's barbarity and sided with Beatrice's appeals for
clemency. However, the Pope showed no mercy and she was hanged.
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