Fortitude — from The Seven Virtues

This engraving shows a woman wearing a plumed helmet and loose, classical-style drapery. She supports a large, broken architectural column on her shoulder, an iconographic attribute representing strength, stability, and the ability to endure hardship.

This work is part of a series representing the Seven Virtues, a central theme in Renaissance moral philosophy and humanistic education. The iconography of the column draws upon classical concepts of 'stewardship' and the endurance of the soul, frequently explored in Neoplatonic literature regarding the internal architecture of the virtuous mind.