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The Kiss of Peace and Justice
About the Artwork
The figures of Peace (burning the weapons of war) and Justice (holding a sword and scales) embrace in a quiet landscape. The Latin inscription under the antique urn reads “Justice and Peace kissed” (referring to an Old Testament verse, Psalms 85:10). The subject may have had political significance: the painting’s date coincides with the end of the Fronde, a period of civil war in France during which the parlement (courts of appeal) and the nobility sought—unsuccessfully—to limit the power of the monarchy
Inscriptions
signed lower right: L. De La Hyre. / in. & F. 1654 [inscribed on stone in center: IVSTITIA ET PAX / OSCULATAE SUNT / Psal. 84]
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1971. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1971-February 6, 1972). Idea to Image: Preparatory Studies from the Renaissance to Impressionism. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (February 19-March 23, 1980). Laurent De La Hyre. Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France (organizer) (January 14-April 10, 1989). The Splendor of Ruins in French Landscape Painting, 1640-1800. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (March 19-June 19, 2005); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (July 15-October 15, 2005).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Laurent de La Hyre (French, 1606–1656)
- Date
- 1654
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 68.5 x 89 x 6.5 cm (26 15/16 x 35 1/16 x 2 9/16 in.); Unframed: 54.9 x 76.2 cm (21 5/8 x 30 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1971.102
Provenance
Evrard Titon du Tillet, Paris, probably 1762; Randon de Boisset, Receveur General des Finances, Paris (sale: Paris, February 27—March 25, 1777, no. 170); Joulin [Joullain?]; Marquis de Sabran; purchased by J. B. P. Lebrun in 1796 for Mr. Codman (see Literature, 1935); (sale: Christie's, London, November 27,1970, no. 52, illus., and dated 1659); Lady Nathan; [Cyril Humphris, London). John L. Severance Fund, 1971.
More by Laurent de La Hyre in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00009154
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