1504 (ca.), Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), The Dream of a Knight -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: The sleeping knight may be the Roman hero Scipio. In a dream, he had to choose between Pleasure, shown in looser robes, and Virtue. Here the women are not presented as contestants. The book, sword and flower they offer suggest the ideals of the scholar, the soldier and the lover respectively, which a knight should combine.
Link to other Raphael paintings
1504 (ca.), Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino), The Dream of a Knight -- National Gallery (London)
From the museum label: The sleeping knight may be the Roman hero Scipio. In a dream, he had to choose between Pleasure, shown in looser robes, and Virtue. Here the women are not presented as contestants. The book, sword and flower they offer suggest the ideals of the scholar, the soldier and the lover respectively, which a knight should combine.
Link to other Raphael paintings