Justice (Titian)

Justice or Judith is a dry fresco by Titian, dating to around 1508 and now in the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro, Venice. Its secondary title refers to Judith from the Apochrypha.

It was originally on the facade of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, rebuilt in 1508 after the previous building was destroyed by fire. 1508 documents attest to a dispute over payment to Giorgione - these documents also show that the external frescoes had not yet been completed at that point. They were painted by Castelfranco and his young pupil Titian. The frescoes were to represent symbols of Venice's autonomy, since they were painted at a time of conflict between the Republic and Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.

Vasari saw the frescoes less than a century after their completion - he did not understand their meaning but praised their proportions and "most lively" colouring, which made them seem "alive and not imitations". Justice was originally over the southern doorway, leading to a narrow alleyway. Dolce records an episode in 1557, when it was mistaken for a work by Giorgione. Damaged by the humid and brackish climate of the lagoon, the frescoes were taken off the walls and moved indoors into the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca' d'Oro and the Galleria dell'Accademia.