Temperanzia

Temperanzia (Temperance) is an allegorical figure painting belonging to the tradition of personified virtues that Tintoretto was frequently called upon to supply for Venetian public and private spaces. The four cardinal virtues—Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance—decorated scuole, palaces, and government chambers throughout Venice. Tintoretto's allegorical figures are typically given the physical vitality and dynamic presence he brought to all his figure subjects, transforming traditional iconographic conventions into something more personally urgent. The work may have been designed as part of a cycle of virtues for a specific Venetian commission.

The allegorical figure is given a powerful physical presence typical of Tintoretto's approach to the human form—strongly modeled through dramatic light and shadow rather than linear contour. He renders drapery with the agitated, complex fold patterns that distinguish his figural work from the more settled classical drapery of his predecessors. The background is typically dark and atmospheric, concentrating light on the figure.