ALESSANDRO ALLORI (FLORENCE 1535-FLORENCE 1607)
Fortitude, Prudence and Vigilance
1579RCIN 906018
In 1578 Francesco de’ Medici commissioned Allori to complete a fresco cycle, begun many years earlier, in the Villa Medici outside Florence. Over a door in the Salone, Allori painted personifications of Fortitude, with club and lion; Prudence, with mirror, serpent and double face; and Vigilance, with sun and taper for watching both day and night. They bestride a dragon, the globe, and military trophies, symbolising the spiritual and temporal triumph of the Medici.
No. 24