Drie deugden

A seated woman in classical dress is positioned against a large stone pedestal and a solitary column. She holds a bridle in her right hand and a long whip in her left, traditional attributes signifying the moderation of impulses and the discipline of the senses. The background shows a faint silhouette of buildings under a clear sky, rendered with the precise, swelling line-work of the Dutch Mannerist style.

Temperance was a central pillar of Renaissance Neo-Stoicism and Neoplatonism, representing the 'temperamentum' or the harmonious balance of the soul's conflicting forces. In an esoteric context, this virtue corresponds to the alchemical need for precise measure and the moderation of the 'sulfuric' passions to achieve the Great Work.