03 — ARTWORK
Faith
- MEDIUM
- Tempera grassa on panel, 168 x 91 cm
- TYPE
- Mythological
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 884 × 1700 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Seven paintings of the same size, representing the seven virtues, were commissioned from Piero del Pollaiuola in 1469 as the backs for chairs in the Audience Chamber in the Tribunale di Mercanzia in Piazza della Signoriafrom the late Middle Ages, the governing body of some of the Italian city states, usually presided over by individual families., Florence. Six of these - representing Charity, Faith, Hope, Justice, Prudence and Temperance - were executed by Piero, while the seventh - <a onclick="return OpenOther('/html/b/botticel/1early/09fortit.html')" href="/html/b/botticel/1early/09fortit.html">Fortitude</a> - was painted by the young Botticelli. The cycle was completed in 1472.
The Tribunale di Mercanzia was the body that decided on the business disputes between Florentine merchants and administered justice among the guildsGuilds were essentially associations of masters in particular crafts, trades, or professions. In Italy they go back a long way; there is documentary evidence of guilds in 6th century Naples. In origin they were clubs which observed religious festivals together and attended the funerals of their members, but in time they acquired other functions. Their economic function was to control standards and to enforce the guild's monopoly of particular activities in a particular territory. Their political function was to participate in the government of the city-state. In some cities, notably Florence in the 14th century, only guildsmen were eligible for civic office, thus excluding both noblemen (unless they swallowed their pride and joined, as some did), and unskilled workers like the woolcombers and dyers. In Florence in 1378 these groups demanded the right to form their own guilds, and there were similar movements of protest in Siena and Bologna. Guilds were also patrons of art, commissioning paintings for guildhalls, contributing to the fabric fund of cathedrals and collaborating on collective projects like the statues for Orsanmichele at Florence. The guilds were not equal. In Florence, the 7 'Greater Guilds', including such prestigious occupations as judges and bankers, outranked the 14 'Lesser Guilds', and in general the guild hierarchy was reflected in the order of precedence in processions. The great age of the guilds was the 13th and 14th centuries. The economic recession after 1348 meant fewer opportunities for journeymen to become masters, and greater hostility between master and man. The shift from trade to land in the 15th and 16th centuries meant a decline in the social standing of the crafts. In some towns, such as Brescia and Vicenza, guild membership actually became a disqualification instead of a qualification for municipal office. The guilds lost their independence and became instruments of state control. In 16th century Venice, for example, they were made responsible for supplying oarsmen for the galleys of the state., known as the Arts. In the 18th century, the wealth and heritage of this judiciary went to the Chamber of Commerce, including the seven paintings of the Virtues, taken to the Uffizi Galleries in 1777.
Faith is personified as a young woman, captured as she looks up to the heavens, holding the calyx of the eucharistthe sacrament of Holy Communion, celebrated with bread and wine, the most sacred moment of the Christian liturgy. in her right hand, covered by the paten, while the processional cross is in her left.
This panelTerm in painting for a support of wood, metal, or other rigid substance, as distinct from canvas. Until the adoption of canvas in the 15th century nearly all the movable paintings of Europe were executed on wood, and even up to the beginning of the 17th century it is probable that as much painting was done on the one support as on the other. Painters who worked on a small scale often used copper panels (Elsheimer is a leading example), and in the colonial art of South America copper and tin and even lead and zinc were used. On a larger scale, slate has occasionally been used as a support, notably by Rubens for his altarpiece for Sta Maria in Vallicella (the Chiesa Nuova) in Rome; the picture he originally painted was said to reflect the light unpleasantly and slate was used for the replacement to produce a more matt finish. For wood panels the Italian masters of the Renaissance preferred white poplar, while oak was the most common wood used in northern Europe. Many other types were used, however; analysis of the contents of art galleries has yielded a long list, including beech, cedar, chestnut, fir, larch, linden, mahogany, olive, and walnut. In the 20th century cedar, teak, and dark walnut are favourites, and modern painters have also used plywood, fibre-board, and other synthetic materials as supports., together with the Temperance, was painted before summer of 1470, partly fulfilling the contract that obliged the painter to provide two panels with the Virtues every three months, starting from 1 January 1470, for a payment of 20 florins for each one.
In this work Piero del Pollaiolo shows extraordinary virtuosity in depicting the gold jewellery, inspired by the most elegant, precious ecclesiastical ornaments in use in the 15th century.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r3c5147e779176a,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Faith by POLLAIUOLO brothers},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/pollaiuolo-brothers-ra85f423cdaa9e7/faith-r3c5147e779176a},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
