Truth Illuminating Human Blindness Gm-00032401

Volterrano (Baldassare Franceschini) (Italian, 1611–1690) In this figure study, a lightly sketched female personification of Truth removes a veil from the eyes of an allegorical figure. Holding symbols of earthly greed-a scepter and crown-the reclining figure represents intellectual and spiritual Blindness.

Volterrano showed his great command of the red chalk technique with the figure of Blindness, shaped by soft, richly applied strokes. With sensitivity and economy, he added luminous highlights of white lead. To develop the boundaries of her body and define her relationship to other elements, Volterrano relied on more than contour. For instance, he used the paper, touches of lead white, and the chalk shading that defines the cushions to create the form of her left arm.

Volterrano made this drawing for a fresco in a palazzo in Florence. In the fresco, Truth holds a book in her upraised left hand, and additional symbols of earthly greed, including two sacks of money, surround the jeweled figure of Blindness.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.