Saturday, October 4, 2008

The Frick Collection

I have been enjoying getting out to the various museums in New York. This weekend was the Frick Collection on 5th Avenue. Mr. Frick was an extraordinary man who made it big in the Steel boom and then after he made his millions, he collected a very intimate array of beautiful art. This place is a must see in New York.
I was completely taken back by one painting because it is so real in my life. In the below painting Paolo Veronese portrays Hercules choosing Virtue over Vice. I love the details and that he chose Virtue and "a rugged ascent leading to true happiness" Enjoy...

http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/33720/allegoryofvirtueandvice1580/f52fdfe2bda6a9d9e0beeb677a19bcdf
Allegory of Virtue and Vice 1580



Paolo Veronese (c. 1528 - 1588)
Allegory of Virtue and Vice (The Choice of Hercules), c.1580
oil on canvas
86 1/4 in. x 66 3/4 in. (219.08 cm x 169.55 cm)
Henry Clay Frick Bequest.


At a crossroads, Hercules encountered Vice, who offered a path of ease and pleasure, and Virtue, who indicated a rugged ascent leading to true happiness — a moral lesson underlined by the motto on the entablature at upper left: [HO]NOR ET VIRTUS/[P]OST MORTE FLORET (Honor and Virtue Flourish after Death). The long talons of Vice have ripped the hero’s stocking. A jagged knife leans against the breast of the sphinx supporting her throne.