Temperance, one of the four Cardinal Virtues, holds a bridle and a clock and stands beside an elephant. Sobriety holds a key and rests her foot on a dolphin. Meekness (?) receives flowers. The figures at the bottom of the composition represent Sloth, Envy and Hunger. In the sky above are Voluptuousness, Youth and Tranquillity.

This painting is one of a group of 10 modelli, or elaborated oil studies, made in preparation for the fresco projects that Giordano created for the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. This painting is connected with the ceiling of the Galleria.