Temperance

Piero del Pollaiuolo's Temperance, painted around 1470 for the Tribunale della Mercanzia in Florence, completes the cardinal virtues in the series now in the Uffizi. Temperance is traditionally shown pouring water into wine, symbolizing moderation. The complete Virtues series—six panels by Piero and one by Botticelli—represents the moral qualities expected of Florence's commercial magistrates and forms an important document of civic art patronage.

Piero renders the personified Virtue with the consistent Pollaiuolo workshop style, using precise drawing and rich color within the throne-and-figure format that maintains unity across the civic virtue series.