Allegory of Justice

Artists usually illustrated the figure of Justice with attributes of a sword, representing her power, and scales, showing her sense of balance. Paying close attention to her lines and proportions, Georg Pencz drew a powerful female nude in profile. Prominent black chalk lines, diagonal and vertical, indicate his efforts to align various parts of her body. For example, she holds her right hand high to form a diagonal line with her face and right nipple.

At first glance, Justice seems to float against a background of fluffy clouds, emphasizing the unbroken silhouette of her form against the empty sky. Her toes, however, project slightly from the picture's bottom frame, as if her feet were firmly balanced on a beam. Pencz's sculptural hatching and cross-hatching suggest he made this design for a print, but no such example is known.