Allegory of Justice
- Artist: Luca Giordano
- Date: early 1680s
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the "Allegory of Justice" by Luca Giordano. Painted in the Italian north, it's a modello for one of the ceiling frescoes in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. Ten of these modelli are actually in our collection here, and this one represents one of the four Cardinal Virtues.
These Virtues were first identified by the philosopher Plato and later adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. Each corner of the ceiling features a different Virtue. Here, Justice is borne by an ostrich, which was a connection first made by Raphael in his own fresco.
Notice how Punishment's sword is turned down, while Recompense pours out rewards from his cornucopia. In the left-hand corner, Deceit is pinned down by the foot of the ostrich. He holds a bunch of flowers with a poisonous snake inside. Behind him is a net to ensnare the unwary.
The flying figures above represent the rewards of Justice: Order, Fame, and Security. You can see how they're depicted in mid-air, adding to the sense of movement in the painting. This particular modello would have been painted around 1682-85. It's made from oil on canvas.
See it in person
Allegory of Justice hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
