Design for a Statue of Prudence with Sketches at Upper Left Corner

A standing female figure in flowing drapery holds a round hand mirror and has a snake coiled around her arm, the attributes of Prudence. Drawn in pen and brown ink with gray wash, she stands on a low pedestal, and faint sketches appear at the upper left.

Look closer: A snake is coiled around the figure's left arm, easy to overlook beside the mirror.

Artist

Giuseppe Bernardino Bison

Date

n.d.

Medium

Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash over traces of black chalk

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

1763 × 3421 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949