Goddess of Chaste Love
1468–75
Medium
Tempera and gold on wood
Dimensions
15 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (39.4 x 43.8 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Marquand Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.182
Tags
About this artwork
Francesco di Giorgio Martini's "Goddess of Chaste Love" (1468-75) represents a fragment from a cassone panel celebrating the Triumph of Chastity—here meaning fidelity in marriage, a popular theme for nuptial chests commissioned by wealthy Florentine families. The goddess rides in her triumphant cart accompanied by virtuous women, embodying moral ideals expected of Renaissance brides. Executed in tempera and gold on wood (15 1/2 x 17 1/4 inches), this panel exemplifies the cassone tradition where...
About the Artist
Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439–1501) was a quintessential Renaissance polymath from Siena, Italy, excelling as a painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and theorist in the Sienese School tradition. Baptized on September 23, 1439, to a poultry dealer named Francesco Maurizio di Giorgio di Martino, his early life remains sparsely documented, with the first record of his artistic activity appear...