2 allegone female figures with sword,book and mirror ( Justica and wisdom ? )

Ferdinand Keller's two allegorical female figures representing Justice (with sword) and Wisdom (with book and mirror) belong to the tradition of academic decorative allegory practiced by this major Baden painter for the grand civic and private buildings of the German Empire. Keller was a leading figure at the Karlsruhe Academy and received numerous commissions for monumental allegorical paintings for public spaces. His personifications followed the standard iconographic code established in Cesare Ripa's Iconologia: Justice with sword and scales, Wisdom with mirror (self-knowledge) and book (learning) — universally legible symbolic figures.

The academic tradition required that allegorical figures be simultaneously legible as symbols and accomplished as figure paintings. Keller meets both demands: the symbolic attributes are prominently displayed while the figures themselves are modelled with full academic competence. The composition is frontal and dignified, the palette rich but controlled.