Allegory of Fortune 1612 - 1650

Pietro Testa’s pen and brown ink wash drawing, made around the mid-17th century, presents us with the formidable goddess Fortuna. She is depicted here seated on a wheel, a classical symbol of her capricious nature, eternally turning, determining the rise and fall of mortals. Note the figure of Opportunity rushing forward, his winged feet echoing the fleeting nature of chance. His bald head suggests that once he has passed, there is no catching him by the hair. This motif of the fleeting moment, seized or missed, has roots stretching back to ancient Greek depictions of Kairos, the personification of opportune moments. We see echoes of Kairos in Renaissance sculptures, reborn with renewed vigor, reflecting the humanistic spirit that valued decisive action. Consider the figures at Fortuna’s feet, crushed or despondent, a poignant reminder of the psychological weight of uncertainty and the subconscious anxieties linked to the whims of fate. The symbol of the wheel, Fortuna’s attribute, continues to turn through art history, representing the cyclical nature of existence, the transient nature of power and the human condition.