Artwork
Allegorical Figure of a Woman with a Club (Fortitude?)
Allegorical Figure of a Woman with a Club (Fortitude?) is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Allegorical Figure of a Woman with a Club (Fortitude?
About this work
Subject & Meaning
) explicitly signals this interpretive framework, though the question mark indicates some scholarly caution regarding the precise identification.
The painting presents a female figure wielding a club, a motif traditionally linked to the allegorical representation of Fortitude in Renaissance and Baroque art. The raised club and the figure’s assertive stance underscore strength and moral courage, aligning with iconographic conventions for Fortitude as a virtue embodying endurance and resolve. The work’s title as Allegorical Figure of a Woman with a Club (Fortitude?) explicitly signals this interpretive framework, though the question mark indicates some scholarly caution regarding the precise identification.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1750, this work is an oil painting on canvas measuring 81 by 65 centimeters. The piece exemplifies the Rococo movement through its allegorical subject matter, depicting a female figure holding a club. While the specific handling and current condition are not detailed in the available records, the composition is classified as an allegory, though some descriptions alternatively categorize the genre as religious art.
The application of oil paint on a textile support reflects the standard materials utilized by the artist during this period.
History & Provenance
The painting was created around 1750 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, as indicated by its documented inception date in institutional records.
It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains located. The work is classified as an allegorical painting, aligning with Tiepolo’s engagement with allegorical themes during this period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, also known as Giambattista Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an important member of the 18th-century Venetian school.
