The Triumph of Chastity, plate two from The Triumphs of Petrarch

German engraver Georg Pencz may have initially seen Petrarch’s popular Triumphs poems interpreted in Italy as a series of prints from Francesco Rosselli’s Florentine workshop, or perhaps on a decorated cassone (marriage chest). The topic may have been seen as especially appropriate for the latter, as Chastity’s victory over Love is so absolute. In fact, in Pencz’s rendition, the blindfolded Cupid has been duly trussed and attached to the front of Chastity’s triumphal car as a figurehead and warning to lovers in her wake.