The Virtue Screen: An 18th Century Biombo at Virginia House

Abstract

THE VIRTUE SCREEN: AN 1 8TH CENTURY BIOMBO AT VIRGINIA HOUSE By Jacqueline Carrera A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Art Historical Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. Major Director: Michael Schreffler Associate Professor, Department of Art History An eighteenth century Mexican folding screen or biombo is located at Virginia House in Richmond, Virginia. A similar three-paneled screen is also located at this site. Upon seeing the similarities between each screen I concluded that the seven panels were at one point a part of one folding screen. The top sections of these folding screens show emblems that depict images of virtues and vices. The source of the emblems on the Virtue Screen is Otto Van Veen's Homtii Emblemata. The text on the screen is taken from a Spanish translation of the Horatii Emblemata entitled the Theatro Moral de toda la Philosophia de 10s A~ztiguos y Modernos. This thesis will examine each emblem in a panel-by-panel discussion as well as the iconography found throughout the screen. It will also provide a brief history of the folding screen with its origins in Asia and a coinparison of similar screens that have been discovered in the Western Hemisphere.