C5: Maiolica dish: allegory of Fortitude

The Cardinal Virtues were commonly used in both sacred and secular contexts.  As Plato originally proposed the Cardinal Virtues in The Republic, they have been naturally applied to government and the morals of civic duty.  St. Thomas Aquinas also wrote extensively on the Cardinal Virtues in his Summa Theologica.

Giovanni Bellini depicted a similar scene of a woman and a lion, which may have been an inspiration for this plate.  

The woman and the lion was a common tarot card in Renaissance Italy.  For example, a Tarocchi del Mantegna card made in Ferrara around 1470 illustrates a woman, lion, and broken column.  This personification of strength eventually became a standard feature in Tarot.  In fact, the image is still used in Tarot card decks today.  The Strength card recognizes the subject’s self-discipline and serenity of self.  Those attributed to the Strength card control his or her fate.  Tarot cards were not only used for divination, but were used in various card games making them accessible to a wide audience.  The Cardinal Virtues Temperance and Justice also appear in the Tarot card decks.  

The attribution of this dish to Domenico da Venezia was suggested by Tim Wilson of the Ashmolean Museum.  The colouring and sketchy lines are characteristic of Domenico da Venezia.  A similar technique may be seen in the depiction of Cupid on a dish in the collection (C7).  A similar dish in the Fitzwilliam Museum is also attributed to the Domenego da Venezia workshop, but some doubt has recently arisen regarding its maker.  A dish in the Wallace Collection that depicts the same subject is attributed to Deruta c. 1520-1540.