Allegorical Figure
Medium
black chalk with red chalk
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.373,"width":0.262},"matted":{"height":0.557,"width":0.405}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1953.626
Tags
About this artwork
The Genoese painter Bernardo Strozzi drew this female figure in preparation for one of his major oil paintings, also in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art (1929.133). Recent scholarship has convincingly identified the subject as Minerva. The Roman goddess of war has put aside her armor for more contemplative pursuits; her upward gaze—as if seeking inspiration—recalls her other associations with wisdom, eloquence, and the arts. The figure is one of a number of single female figures ass...