Temperance
1552
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1552
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Temperance is a 1552 by Heinrich Aldegrever, a northern_renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This print shows a robed woman holding a tall staff while standing on a rocky shore. Behind her, a giant hand reaches from the water, grasping at her. To the right, a bird perches on a broken column, and the waves crash against the rocks. The woman’s face is calm, but the scene around her feels tense. The Latin text at the bottom roughly means "Poverty sharpens the mind, and sobriety is the enemy of vice." This print is part of a set of virtues and vices, where figures like this one stand for ideas. Look up Renaissance next to see how artists used symbols like these to teach lessons.
