Vault decoration
by SOLIMENA, Francesco, Fresco
The four bays of the vault contain three groupings of picture panels: the centre row, in which octagons alternate with lobed rectangles; the surrounding triangles filled with putti; and the caps of the vault above the windows, which are bracketed to the panels along the centre axis by cartouches. The centre panels contain female personifications of virtues, while the female figures in the caps above the windows are personifications of the eight Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount.
The picture shows three bays of the vault of the sacristy in San Paolo Maggiore, Naples. The virtues in the centre panels are (from top down) Religio, Orazione, and Castità.