La Force

A young woman in armour and a red robe sits on a marble throne, her eyes lowered and soft. Strength, as Botticelli imagined it, is quiet. This panel is the first recorded masterpiece of his career.

The story behind the painting

Fortitude belonged to a set of seven Virtues made for the Tribunal Hall of the Mercanzia in Florence, the body that settled business disputes between merchants and guilds. The commission was so prestigious that many painters wanted it. The other six panels came from Piero del Pollaiuolo's workshop, and Pollaiuolo's protests limited Botticelli to this single figure. He was helped by Tommaso Soderini, one of the commissioners, and the painters' guild later changed its rules to protect members from such outside interference. Wikipedia says the panel was finished in 1470, while Wikidata gives 1475.

What to look for

The panel, 167 by 87 cm, is painted in tempera, colours mixed with egg yolk, on poplar, unlike the cypress used for the other Virtues. The eye goes first to her lit face, turned down and away; such passive, absent gazes were typical of Botticelli's women. Her red robe, slipping off one shoulder, falls across her lap, its soft folds set against her metal armour, mixing delicacy and vigour. Faint bluish shadows under her eyes hint that she has known misfortune. Even seated she shifts into a slight contrapposto, one foot forward, as if about to rise.

Meaning and intent

Why would strength look so gentle? The article suggests that because the panels hung high, she gazes down to watch over the viewers and over the other virtues: she comes first in the line, and without strength none of the others can be attempted. To fifteenth-century viewers the Virtues joined philosophy and faith; Pseudo-Dionysius called them bestowers of grace and valour. Her richly carved marble bench sets her apart from Pollaiuolo's figures. The woman may have been modelled on Lucrezia Donati, though the source states this only as a possibility.

Legacy

The panels later moved to the Uffizi, when the property of the old Mercanzia passed to the Chamber of Commerce in 1777. Pollaiuolo's six companions, Charity, Faith, Temperance, Prudence, Hope and Justice, hang there too. Among them Fortitude stands out as the first recorded masterpiece of Botticelli, a young painter who won a single place in a crowded commission and made it unforgettable. The figure who supports all the others is shown as tender rather than fierce, and that choice is what still holds viewers today.