Temperance
ArtistWorkshop of
Francesco Primaticcio
(Italian, 1504-1570)
CultureItalian
Dateca. 1560
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions28 1/2 x 42 1/2 in. (72.4 x 108 cm)
Overall, Frame: 40 x 53 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (101.6 x 135.9 x 13.3 cm)
Overall, Frame: 40 x 53 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. (101.6 x 135.9 x 13.3 cm)
Credit LineGift of Edwin and Adrianne Joseph
Object number2005.7
On View
Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 203
Label TextWorkshop of Francesco Primaticcio Italian, 1504–1570 Temperance, ca. 1560 Oil on wood Wrapped in antique drapery and reclining by a Roman column and fanciful Greek vase, this elegant female figure could be mistaken for the pagan love goddess Venus. In fact, she represents the Christian virtue of Temperance—the ideal of moral and emotional restraint. Assisted by playful putti, she pours water into a bowl of wine, a gesture symbolizing her power to limit alcoholic indulgence and other human vices. Long celebrated in religious thought and art, here Temperance is “updated”—her classical styling was at the cutting edge of Renaissance art. Gift of Edwin and Adrianne Joseph 2005.7 ProvenanceAuction, Sotheby's, London, April 21, 1993, no. 21 as School of Fontainebleau; purchased by Edwin and Adrianne Joseph, 1993-2005; Gift of Edwin and Adrianne Joseph to the Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005. Published ReferencesJeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 25, fig. 13. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1
