Veronese’s Allegories:
Virtue, Love, and Exploration in Renaissance Venice
April 11 through July 16, 2006

Paolo Veronese (c. 1528 - 1588) Wisdom and Strength, c.1565 Oil on canvas 84 1/2 x 65 3/4 in. (214.63 x 167.01 cm) Henry Clay Frick Bequest. Accession number: 1912.1.128

A richly dressed female figure — Wisdom — looks upward to heaven while divine light shines on her face. She stands over a globe symbolizing the world. Below her are crowns, scepters, jewels, coins, and military banners. Cupid sits on the right, while Hercules with his lion’s skin and resting on his club, stands as a symbol of power, force, brute strength, and even violence. The inscription on the pedestal of the column to the left is a quotation from the Book of Ecclesiastes: ALL IS VANITY. All earthly things (power, kingship, nations, wars, love, and strength) are therefore meaningless compared to celestial ones, as embodied by Divine Wisdom.>>