Allegory of Fortitude

This bust-length painting of a woman in classical costume represents an allegory of Fortitude, one of the four cardinal virtues. She is identified by her two most common attributes, the column which she grasps with both hands, and the lion, whose head is emblazoned on a decorative clasp at her chest.

In the representation of Fortitude, Tosini followed Renaissance iconography developed by, among others, Botticelli, whose Fortitude from c. 1470 influenced generations of Florentine artists such as Tosini.