Virtue Overcoming Vice 17th - 18th century

This is Giambologna's "Virtue Overcoming Vice," a marble relief made in the late 16th century. Giambologna, working in Florence, was at the heart of the Mannerist movement, a style that prized elegance and sophistication. The sculpture stages a symbolic struggle, a popular theme during the Counter-Reformation, where the Catholic Church sought to reassert its moral authority. We see Virtue, often interpreted as an allegorical female figure, triumphing over Vice, typically represented as a defeated male. The nakedness of the figures speaks to ideals of beauty inherited from antiquity while embodying a deeply gendered power dynamic. Virtue, idealized and serene, subdues Vice, shown in distress. How might we see this narrative today, where gender roles and expectations have expanded? Does the sculpture’s traditional representation of morality still resonate, or does it provoke us to question its underlying assumptions?