# Allegory of Wisdom Fostering the Arts and Sciences [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LAIRESSE, Gérard de]() - Date: 1651-1700 - Technique: Oil on canvas, 65 x 78 cm ## Commentary The figure of Minerva, goddess of wisdom, is shown seated on a throne above the other figures. Female figures below appear to represent the arts \(Painting and Music\) and sciences \(Astronomy and Mathematics\). The two female figures conversing at far right may depict Rhetoric and Poetry, and the figure holding a basket overflowing with flowers and fruit probably personifies Abundance. ## Related artworks - [Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes]() - [Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes]() - [Allegory of the Five Senses]() - [Allegory of the Freedom of Trade]() - [Apollo and Aurora \(detail\)]() - [Apollo and Aurora]() - [Apollo and Aurora]() - [Cleopatra's Banquet \(detail\)]() - [Cleopatra's Banquet]() - [Diana and Endymion]() - [Five Female Heads]() - [Hagar in the Desert]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()