Allegory of the Scuola di San Teodoro

Among the sixteen allegories around the central painting on the ceiling of the Sala dell’Albergo are five allegorical figures of the Scoule Grandi of Venice. These and the other allegorical figures of the Cardinal Virtues are portrayed in forced and artificial poses and attitudes of truly Mannerist origin. They were particularly studied by Tintoretto in preliminary drawings.

In the Allegory of the Scuola di San Teodoro, identified as such by the writing on the preliminary drawing which is in the Uffizi in Florence, the warrior Saint seems to be barely contained in the oval space where he stands out in the flashing light of his shining armour.