Details

Title

Temperance

Artist/Maker

Vittore Carpaccio (Italian, 1460–1526)

Date

ca. 1525

Medium

Oil on wood panel

Dimensions

42 5/8 x 21 5/8 inches

Credit

Gift of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation

Accession #

58.35

Location

Currently not on view

This allegorical representation of Temperance is probably part of a quartet of panels illustrating the four Cardinal Virtues—the other three being Prudence, Justice, and Fortitude. Since the Middle Ages women have personified the Virtues and remain easily identifiable by attributes. Here Temperance carefully pours liquid from one vessel into another, presumably diluting wine with water to suggest moderation.

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