Artwork
Hope
Hope is an oil painting by the Early Renaissance artist Piero del Pollaiuolo. It dates from 1470 and is held in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery.
About this work
Although the painting’s exact subject isn’t described in detail, its title suggests a focus on the abstract idea of hope.
Hope is a painting made around 1470 by the Italian artist Piero del Pollaiuolo. It was created with tempera on a wooden panel, a common technique of the time.
The work is a single‑panel piece that has been part of the Uffizi Gallery’s collection for centuries. Although the painting’s exact subject isn’t described in detail, its title suggests a focus on the abstract idea of hope.
If you’re curious to learn more, check out the Uffizi Gallery.
Overview
Created circa 1470, *Hope* is a tempera painting on wood by Florentine artist Piero del Pollaiuolo. The work exemplifies early Renaissance sensibilities, combining a modest scale with a clear allegorical intent. It has been part of the Uffizi Gallery’s collection for many centuries, where it remains on display as a representative example of the period’s devotional imagery.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a solitary female figure dressed in contemporary attire, caught in a moment of prayer while clutching a sandal. The title and the act of holding the sandal have traditionally been interpreted as symbols of the virtue of hope, suggesting an inner spiritual anticipation rather than a narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera, the paint is applied in thin, luminous layers that reveal the artist’s mastery of the medium on a wooden panel. The figure’s anatomy is rendered with careful observation, reflecting the Pollaiuolo workshop’s interest in precise bodily form and the influence of classical studies on proportion and gesture.
History & Provenance
Piero del Pollaiuolo, who frequently worked alongside his elder brother Antonio, produced the painting during a prolific phase of his career. The work entered the Uffizi’s holdings early in the museum’s history, becoming part of the Florentine civic collection that later formed the core of the gallery’s Renaissance holdings.
Context
*Hope* belongs to a broader trend in mid‑15th‑century Florence of creating allegorical personifications of virtues for private devotion or civic display. The Pollaiuolo brothers were known for integrating classical motifs with contemporary religious themes, and this piece illustrates their synthesis of humanist learning and devotional practice.
Artist & collection
Artist
Piero del Pollaiuolo (UK: POL-eye-WOH-loh, US: POHL-, Italian: ; also spelled Pollaiolo; c.
