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44 - Allegory of the Virtues Roman School, 17th century oil on ca…
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Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
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Description
Allegory of the Virtues Roman School, 17th century oil on canvas 100 x 130 cm An important and complex allegorical composition set in accordance with the classicist taste of Baroque Rome, in which various symbolic personifications contribute to the construction of an articulate moral and philosophical programme. At the centre of the scene dominates the figure of Minerva, recognisable by her helmet and cuirass, the traditional personification of Wisdom and civil Virtue, represented as the ordering principle capable of governing the passions and disorder of war. To the right of the composition appears a figure identifiable with Mars, god of War, immersed in an area covered by reddish glows and atmospheric ignitions that evoke the chaos of conflict and violence. The contrast between Minerva's firm composure and the aggressive dynamism of the martial figure constitutes the conceptual fulcrum of the entire allegory, based on the opposition between Reason and War, Wisdom and Destruction.On the lower right is a female figure with a mirror and snake, iconographic attributes traditionally referred to Prudence, a fundamental virtue of 17th-century moral culture. The presence of the mirror in fact alludes to self-knowledge, while the serpent represents wisdom and the ability to discern. Other allegorical figures accompany the scene: winged putti with books and symbols of the arts and knowledge, a figure holding a caduceus, a probable reference to Mercury as an emblem of intelligence and diplomacy, and an olive branch, a clear allusion to Peace and Concord. The work thus appears to be a vast allegory of the triumph of Wisdom and civil Virtues over War and destructive passions, according to an iconographic programme of high intellectual elaboration, typical of 17th-century Roman classicist culture.In terms of compositional layout, severe monumentality of the figures and refined balance between allegorical component and narrative clarity, the painting shows significant affinities with the figurative culture gravitating around Andrea Sacchi, a protagonist of the Roman classicist current as opposed to the more dynamic and spectacular developments of Cortonesque Baroque. The orderly construction of space, the limited number of main figures and the strong symbolic density also recall the conception of painting as 'moral poetry' advocated by Roman intellectual circles. Within frame.
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About the sale Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings and Drawings
Auction location
Auction time 06/12/2026 at 2:00 PM
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