This website presents our knowledge and research on this important aspect of the Royal Collection. As of April 2026 it will not be regularly updated and new research on this topic will sit within the main website.

Visit the Royal Collection

Allegory

Depictions of The Virtues, and other allegorical personifications

This portfolio includes reproductions after Raphael’s painting Vision of a Knight (National Gallery, London) and various other designs attributed to Raphael, as well as a set of woodcut illustrations from the 1554 French edition of Francesco Colonna’s novel Hypnerotomachia Poliphili; Raphael was thought to have designed the illustrations for the second Italian edition of this publication, which was printed in Venice in 1545. There are also prints by Marcantonio Raimondi and others after a design by Raphael which was originally thought to be allegorical in subject but is now interpreted as depicting The Reconciliation of Minerva and Cupid.

PreviousNext
Policy links
Royal Collection TrustIn Partnership with

Royal Collection Trust is a charity caring for the Royal Collection and welcoming visitors to the royal palaces. We bring our shared history to life through world-class experiences that involve and inspire people, wherever they are. Income from tickets and retail sales helps us to conserve the Collection so that it can be enjoyed by everyone for generations to come.