Title: Virtù Cardinali e Teologali
Description: The Cardinal and Theological Virtues is a fresco by Raphael as part of his Stanza della Segnatura in the Palazzi Vaticani in Vatican City. It is 6.6m wide at the base. The cardinal virtues are personified as three women in a bucolic landscape, and the theological virtues by cupids: Another interpretation might see Prudence as holding the reins and Temperance with two faces. Prudence is traditionally called auriga virtutum (the charioteer of the virtues); it guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure and Temperance moderates the attraction of the pleasures of the senses and provides balance in the use of created goods. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1806, and 1838).
Author(s): Raphael