Image

RISDM 56-096.jpg
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Paolo Veronese

Wisdom and Strength, ca. 1565-1580

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

Wisdom and Strength

Year

ca. 1565-1580

Medium

Oil on canvas

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

214.6 x 166.4 cm (84 1/2 x 65 1/2 inches)

Type

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

56.096

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

European Galleries

Moralizing themes from ancient Greek and Roman mythology became popular subject matter in Venetian painting in the 1500s. Here Wisdom is personified as a woman draped in lustrous silks, assuming a noble stance and projecting divine enlightenment. Strength, in the form of Hercules, slouches behind her and contemplates the vanity of worldly riches scattered at her feet. Commissioned by wealthy patrons for aristocratic households, this genre of history painting is distinct from the religious subjects painted for churches. Artists in the workshop of Paolo Veronese served both markets, and often produced copies of their most appealing allegorical canvases, including this one.

Use

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