Public data from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Learn more
About the Artwork
During the 1630s, the Genoese artist Bernardo Strozzi painted a number of female figures representing various intellectual and artistic pursuits, reflecting the appeal of such allegories among learned patrons in northern Italy. Recent scholarship has convincingly identified the subject of this painting as Minerva. The Roman goddess of war has put aside her armor for more contemplative pursuits; her upward gaze—as if seeking inspiration—recalls her other associations with wisdom, eloquence, and the arts.
Provenance
Until 1929: Collection of Italico Brass, Venice, Italy) 1929: Sold from the Italico Brass collection, Venice, with the assistance of Harold Woodbury Parsons to the Cleveland Museum of Art 1929 - Present: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Art of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9-December 2, 1934). The Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition: The Official Art Exhibit of the Great Lakes Exposition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 26-October 4, 1936). The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941). The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957). Bernardo Strozzi, Paintings and Drawings. Binghamton University Art Museum, Binghamton, NY (organizer) (October 8-November 5, 1967). Bernardo Strozzi: Genova 1581/82-Venezia 1644. Palazzo Ducale (Genova), Genova, Italy (May 6-August 6, 1995); The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (September 10-November 26, 1995).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Bernardo Strozzi (Italian, 1581?-1644)
- Date
- c. 1636
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 178.5 x 133.5 x 12 cm (70 1/4 x 52 9/16 x 4 3/4 in.); Unframed: 145.8 x 99.8 cm (57 3/8 x 39 5/16 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of the Friends of The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession no.
- 1929.133
More by Bernardo Strozzi 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-00009362
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