TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista
(b. 1696, Venezia, d. 1770, Madrid)

Glory among the Cardinal Virtues

1734
Fresco
Villa Loschi Zileri dal Verme, Biron di Monteviale

The the central section of the ceiling of the main hall is taken up by a celebratory image of Glory among the Cardinal Virtues. Glory is the woman dressed in gold, in her right hand a small golden figure that represents Truth. Forming a circle around her are the angel of Fame, who ascends on the right, sounding a trumpet; Justice, to the left, with a sword and scale; Fortitude, with a cuirass, shield, and helmet; Temperance with a vase of water; and Prudence, with a serpent wound around her arm and reflecting upon her image in a mirror held up by a putto. To the right, Evil falls from the sky - a horrible old woman terrified by the appearance of Glory.