Justice, Vengence, and Truth
1865
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1865
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Justice, Vengence, and Truth is a 1865 by Nicolas-François Chifflart, a Impressionism work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see three women tangled in mid-air, muscles tight, robes flying. One holds scales, one a sword, one a mirror—Justice, Vengeance, Truth. Chifflart drew right on copper plates like he was doodling on paper. The lines feel loose, almost alive, as if he changed his mind mid-stroke. This wasn’t polished; it was practice turned into art. If you like how the figures seem to move, look up the technique called *sfumato*.
