Allegorical figure

The relief belonged to the funerary monument to Anne Marie Martinozzi, princesse de Conti (d. 1672), in the Church of Saint-André-des-Arts, Paris. An engraving of the monument shows that the figure embodied three religious virtues: Charity (flaming heart), Hope (anchor), and Faith (block under the figure's right foot). In 1793, the monument was dismantled and removed to the Musée des Monuments Français. In 1809 the relief was placed in the park of the Empress Josephine's estate, Malmaison. At that time, the attributes were reworked. The anchor on the figure's left was transformed into a piece of drapery and the flaming heart in the left hand into a poppy, symbol of sleep.

Credit: Fletcher Fund...