Rhetoric

Justus van Gent's Rhetoric belongs to the series of personifications of the Liberal Arts and famous men painted for Federico da Montefeltro's studiolo in Urbino. The allegorical figure of Rhetoric, the art of persuasion that was central to the humanist educational program, was depicted in a series that covered all seven Liberal Arts. Justus's contribution to the Urbino studiolo program demonstrates how the Flemish painter, in service of Italy's most cultivated Renaissance court, produced works that combined his northern technical precision with the humanist iconographic programs Federico's scholars devised.

Executed with skilled technique and attention to careful observation, the work reveals Justus van Gent's characteristic approach to composition and surface. The treatment of light and the careful modulation of color create visual richness within a unified pictorial scheme.