An Allegory

Sandro Botticelli painted this Allegory around 1495, a late work that reflects his growing interest in allegorical and moral subjects as Savonarola's preaching transformed the cultural atmosphere of Florence. Botticelli's allegorical paintings of this period—like his Calumny of Apelles—drew on classical literary sources to create moral commentaries on human behavior, and his late style shows both the linear precision of his early work and the more intense emotional register of his final period. The allegorical mode allowed painters to treat subjects that would have been impossible in purely devotional or secular contexts, the classical or mythological allegory providing a framework for moral or political commentary under the guise of abstract virtue. Botticelli's allegories occupy a special place in his output as works that combined his classical learning with his increasingly intense religious concerns.

The composition employs the graceful, flowing lines and idealized figure types associated with Botticelli's circle. The allegorical subject matter is conveyed through symbolic figures and attributes that invite learned interpretation.