Justice, Truth and Reason in the Stocks with the Seated Judge and Sleeping Piety

Albrecht Dürer

National Gallery of Art

This drawing depicts figures representing virtues and vices in an allegorical scene. The central figures are labeled 'Gerechtigkeit' (Justice), 'Warhatt' (Truth), and 'Vernunft' (Reason). Justice holds a sword, while another authoritative figure on the right holds a rod and sits on a throne-like chair labeled 'Ich bin die frucht'. An infant is depicted in a cradle below this figure. The artwork includes symbolic characters and text elements in a style similar to woodcut illustrations from the late medieval or early Renaissance period.