Prudence

Cesare Quaranta, artist

active circa 1513–1539

Prudence, circa 1513–1515

Where object was made: Italy

Material/technique: marble

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 61 x 76 cm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 24 x 29 15/16 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Elizabeth M. Watkins Fund

Accession number: 1965.0015

Not on display

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Label texts

These marble figures of the virtues Prudence and Fortitude are examples of 16th-century Neapolitan tomb sculpture. Prominent families frequently bought space for burials in churches. They commissioned artists to decorate their funerary chapels with works of art that glorified their family and piety, and expressed their hopes for salvation. Embodiments of the cardinal virtues were popular subjects for sculptors working on 16th-century tombs, because they eloquently alluded to the honorable character of the deceased. These sculptures were produced for the Carafa di Santa Severina family burial chapel in the Dominican church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples. The tombs of Count Galeotto Carafa della Spina and his son, Andrea, were designed to face each other across their family’s chapel.

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
These marble figures of the virtues Prudence and Fortitude are examples of 16th-century Neapolitan tomb sculpture. Prominent families frequently bought space for burials in churches. They commissioned artists to decorate their funerary chapels with works of art that glorified their family and piety, and expressed their hopes for salvation. Embodiments of the cardinal virtues were popular subjects for sculptors working on 16th-century tombs, because they eloquently alluded to the honorable character of the deceased. These sculptures were produced for the Carafa di Santa Severina family burial chapel in the Dominican church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples. The tombs of Count Galeotto Carafa della Spina and his son, Andrea, were designed to face each other across their family’s chapel.

Label Sep-2009:
Prudence and Fortitude were produced for the Carafa di Santa Severina family burial chapel in the Dominican church of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples. The tombs of Count Galeotto Carafa della Spina and his son, Andrea, were designed to face each other across their family’s chapel. These works were intended for Andrea’s tomb. Although they never were installed, the Carafa family apparently kept these sculptures until the 1800s.

Exhibition Label:
Sep-2007
These marble figures of the virtues Prudence and Fortitude are examples of sixteenth-century Neapolitan tomb sculptures. Prominent families frequently bought space for burials in churches. They commissioned artists to decorate these spots with works of art glorifying their familial achievements and piety. Typically in Renaissance tomb sculpture, virtues such as these would flank a relief portrait bust.