Personification In The Scrovegni Chapel

Personification, a human representation of an idea , features prominently in the dado frescoes (painted by the Giotto workshop) of the Scrovegni Chapel. In the chapel, The Last Judgement fresco lies above the exit depicting the redeemed saints on Christ’s left and the damned souls on Christ’s right. Corresponding to the two groups are frescoes depicting personifications of seven virtues on the left wall and of seven vices on the right wall. The individual frescoes include enough detail to characterize a vice or virtue. Moreover, each fresco faces its opposite across the room, presenting an antithetical personification of virtues and vices. Antithesis is the opposition of ideas using similar composition , or, more rightly, a method of definition …show more content…
The “-sper-” in desperation originates from the Latin sperare, which comes from the Latin spes, or hope . The fresco Hope depicts a woman held up by her wings, lifting and opening her hands to receive a crown held by angel. Both the crown and angel are outside her frame, possibly representing hope for things unseen. Her face is in profile, showing her transition to glorification, augmented by her body slanting towards the right. Her feet are shown in the lower left corner to show that she is floating above ground. On the other hand, Desperation is a woman held up by a noose, yet sinking since her dress trails the floor and her knee is bent. Her hands are in fists and her arms are pointed down while a black demon attacks her hanging head from the upper left corner. Both the woman’s face and the demon are scratched out. Unlike Hope, her body is straight, but it is placed in the left side of frame and not centered. Moreover, Spes is reminiscent of the Roman divine personification of hope, connecting hope to divine origins, unlike Desperation, which lacks any divine connection. This pair is the last before the exit, and therefore it serves as a complement to the Last Judgement. Both images foreshadow the reward for the faithful and the damnation of the …show more content…
Unlike the last two pairings, Wrath and Temperance are not linguistic opposites. The Latin ira (precursor of the English irate and ire) and the English wrath is primarily related to violent, impassioned anger . Temperance, on the other hand, denotes restraint, moderation, calm . Temperance controls anger, not negate it. Even then, the personifications still provide an antithesis. Temperance is fully clothed, her hair is covered, and the composition is balanced: the figure is situated in the middle, her full face is visible, and her posture is relaxed. Temperance also holds a sword downwards while wrapping its hilt and blade with a belt, preventing anyone from drawing it. The wrapping of the sword is a representation of self-restraint. Although she has a weapon, she wraps it to restrain from cutting or hurting anything or anyone. Her mouth is also bound, exhibiting her restraint in speech. In contrast, Wrath rips her clothes to bare her chest, and her hair is loose and out. Wrath’s loose hair shows low morals since Temperance, in contrast, covers her hair. She looks up at the sky with a crazed look and seems to push against the left wall. Wrath also appears larger in girth than Temperance, hinting a lack of moderation. Both, being directly left of Justice and Injustice (towards altar) complement the imagery of Justice and Injustice. Wrath can drive injustice while temperance is