Fides, Het Geloof. NL-HlmNHA 1477 53008500

An allegorical female figure representing Faith stands in an expansive landscape with her head turned to the side. She holds a small crucifix in her right hand and an open book, representing Scripture, in her left. The voluminous, swirling drapery and dynamic posture are characteristic of the artist's Haarlem Mannerist style.

Faith is one of the three theological virtues central to the moral and spiritual framework of Renaissance Neoplatonism and natural philosophy. In the Western esoteric tradition, these virtues were often viewed as the necessary internal dispositions for the seeker of divine wisdom or the practitioner of the Great Work.