Temperance

Faith and Temperance were made as a pair, both finished before the summer of 1470. The contract set a brisk pace, two Virtues every three months at 20 florins each, and these were the first two Piero delivered. Temperance is the middle measure, and he pictures it as an action rather than a pose. A young woman tips water from a tall ewer down into a basin, mixing hot and cold to the right warmth. The idea carries into the colour. Her red mantle lies over a green dress, and the floor and walls repeat that same red and green, the two extremes she is busy bringing together. The jug and basin are set with gems, painted by a man whose brother Antonio worked as a goldsmith.