Choir stalls panel; Spanish or Flemish school; early seventeenth century.

Panel choir stalls; Spanish or Flemish School; early seventeenth century.
"Allegory of Temperance or Justice".
Walnut.
Measurements: 51,5 x 33,5 x 3 cm.
Panel carved in walnut wood probably made within the scope of the Spanish or Flemish school in the early seventeenth century, and representing an allegory of Temperance or Justice within the moralizing repertoire characteristic of religious art of the period. This type of relief formed part of the complex iconographic program that decorated the backs and panels of the choir stalls in churches and monasteries, fundamental elements of the liturgical furnishings in which sculpture played both an ornamental and didactic role. They often depicted cycles of symbolic or moral character, virtues, biblical episodes or allegories, intended to accompany the community life of the choir and to visually reinforce the spiritual principles of the ecclesiastical institution.
The scene is organized by means of a vertical composition dominated by the figure of a soldier or warrior in a firm attitude, dressed in classical armor and carrying a spear, whose presence introduces an iconographic language derived from Renaissance humanism. Next to him is a female figure holding a balance, an attribute traditionally associated with Justice, while above the whole a secondary scene develops among clouds with another armed character, suggesting a more complex allegorical dimension. The scales, universal symbol of moral balance and righteousness in judgment, clearly refers to the personification of Justice, although the presence of other narrative elements could link the scene to the broader representation of the cardinal virtues, in particular Temperance, understood in the Christian moral tradition as mastery of the passions and moderation of human impulses.
From the formal point of view, the relief is characterized by a deep and carefully modeled carving that takes advantage of the plastic qualities of walnut. The sculptor shows particular attention to the treatment of the folds of the vestments, the details of the armor and the expressiveness of the faces, elements that reveal a technical mastery typical of workshops specialized in the elaboration of choir stalls.