Allegory of Religion flanked by Justice and Charity

A print after Clement VII’s papal throne canopy now in the Vatican Museums. Lettered with artists' and printer's names below image. With coat of arms at lower centre, and winged putto at lower right. With pencil annotations on the front. Proof state before title and dedication. Described as from Pietro de Brognoli's series of prints after Raphael's Stanze frescoes and Vatican tapestries dated 1874 (Höper 2001). Not in Ruland (1876).

The subject has generally been interpreted as an allegorical representation of Justice (left) and Charity (right) flanking Religion (or the Church) resting on a globe, with lions holding standards with papal insignia in the foreground. The side vertical borders reproduced in this print are derived from the Sistine Chapel tapestry of 'Christ Charge to Peter'. See RCIN 853039.

The throne canopy of Pope Clement VII is commonly associated with the so-called ‘Scuola Nuova’ tapestry set. It is assumed that it was woven in the workshop of Pieter van Aelst in Brussels during the mid-1520s from cartoons by Tommaso Vincidor. For further discussion, see Bibliographic References.