Allegories of Faith and Hope, Flanking the Zuccaro Emblem

Allegorical figures of Faith and Hope sit on either side of a sugar loaf stuck with lilies, the Zuccaro family emblem, which plays on the Italian word for sugar, zucchero. Dressed in a long, hooded cloak gathered at her throat, Faith holds a cross in one hand and gestures with the other while a small dog paws her knee. Hope lifts her eyes to heaven, her hands joined in prayer. The light seems to come from the upper left, highlighting one side of the women's faces while casting the other side of their bodies into dark shadow.

The drawing's irregular shape and viewpoint suggest that it was intended for a ceiling decoration

Digital image and text courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.