# Allegory of the Humanist Virtue

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/hoefnagel-jacob-rc464890988c97c/allegory-of-the-humanist-virtue-refb85ec3dc7eba>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [HOEFNAGEL, Jacob](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/hoefnagel-jacob-rc464890988c97c>)
- Date: 1601-1650
- Technique: Red chalk, heightening in white, 199 x 148 mm

## Commentary

This sheet depicts a naked female figure who has survived a shipwreck and reached the shore. It is an example of a work using symbols to convey abstract ideas. Its theme is linked the central issue of Neo-stoic philosophy, i.e. the endless struggle between Fortuna and Virtue.

## Related artworks

- [A Young Man Caresses an Old Woman](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/hoefnagel-jacob-rc464890988c97c/a-young-man-caresses-an-old-woman-r6dadcea3fee262>)
- [Apelles Painting Campaspe in the Presence of Alexander](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/hoefnagel-jacob-rc464890988c97c/apelles-painting-campaspe-in-the-presence-of-alexander-rc475e2847923c4>)
- [Several insects](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/hoefnagel-jacob-rc464890988c97c/several-insects-r35be46f7866ba0>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)