Portrait of Lady Louisa Leveson Gower as Spes 1767

Angelica Kauffmann painted Lady Louisa Leveson Gower as Spes, the Roman goddess of hope, with oils, at an unknown date. The anchor is Spes's primary attribute, a symbol of steadfastness amidst life's storms. The anchor, however, is an ambivalent symbol. From ancient Greece to the Renaissance, it has signified both hope and despair, security and restriction. In some contexts, it is seen as an emblem of constancy, in others, a sign of being weighed down. One can find it in antiquity used in funerary contexts as a symbol of eternal rest. Early Christians adopted the anchor as a disguised cross, thus linking hope with religious faith. Note the melancholic pose of Lady Louisa, her gaze averted. This gesture invites contemplation on how hope can be intertwined with sorrow, a psychological tension deeply embedded in the collective memory of humanity. This image stirs within us a reflection on the cyclical nature of hope, its ability to resurface and evolve.