Allegory in Honor of Pope Benedict XIV
Pompeo Batoni, AD1708-1787
This work of Batoni seems to be either unfinished and was intended to be later mastered as a painting.
From study of such allegory, it seems that angels carry a large medal with a portrait of Benedict XIV, proclaiming the Supremacy of the Papacy to the world, who looks at the portrait in awe and wonder, with the Roman skyline in the background. The female figures looking in awe may also be female personifications of virtuous traits (Sapientia, Providentia, Religio, etc.) that describe Benedict XIV and his papacy. In Batoni's other work presenting Benedict XIV, he is pictured in full pontificals with personifications of Religio and Sapientia, thus providing further evidence that these female figures are used likewise.
