Personification of “philosphia moralis”, ca. 1629

Blatt: 322 x 211 mm

Physical Description: Pen in brown, over traces of charcoal, wahed in brown, indications of squaring in black chalk, traces of a framing line in brown

Inventory Number: 13667

Object Number: 13667 Z

Status: On display, Department of Prints and Drawings Exhibition Gallery

Texts

About the Work

Like Bernini, Pietro da Cortona was one of the artists highest in demand in the Rome of his day. This drawing served as a model for the engraving on the title page of an edition of Aristotle’s writings. The blank panel of the base is where the inscription would go. The figure is a personification of the “philosophia moralis”—ethics. The yoke in her right hand points to the taming of wild animals, which stand for the vices. With her left she holds up a plumb bob, a symbol of the good order.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Personification of “philosphia moralis”

Draughtsman

Pietro da Cortona

Period Produced

17th century

School

early Baroque

Object Type

drawing

Physical Description: Pen in brown, over traces of charcoal, wahed in brown, indications of squaring in black chalk, traces of a framing line in brown

Material

Technique

Geographic Reference

Roman

Production Reason

Captions Added Later: Unten rechts Stempel der Sammlung Rudolf Philipp Goldschmidt, Berlin (Lugt 2926); verso links unten Stempel des Städelschen Kunstinstituts, Frankfurt am Main (Lugt 2356)