The Seven Virtues
Historical Context
Antonfrancesco dello Scheggia's The Seven Virtues, painted around 1450 and now in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, represents the allegorical tradition in Early Renaissance Italian painting — the personification of moral concepts as elegantly dressed female figures for secular domestic decoration. The Seven Virtues (the four Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance, plus the three Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity) were a standard program for secular painted furniture in Florentine households, appearing on cassoni and spalliere.
Technical Analysis
Tempera on panel with a decorative, frieze-like presentation typical of furniture painting. The seven female allegorical figures are arranged in sequence, each identifiable by her traditional attribute — scales for Justice, mirror for Prudence, anchor for Hope.
