The allegorical painting was commissioned by the founder of the academy, Count István Széchenyi who donated the full annual income of his estates to establish the Hungarian Society of Learning in 1825.

The painting shows a young goddess wearing a white chiton and a purple cloak; there is a laurel wreath on her head.

The goddess is set in a dark landscape, where heavy clouds are gathering on the sky, but the first rays of the light are bursting through the gloom.

The reliefs of the shield depict a famous episode from ancient history, the meeting of Attila, the ruler of the Huns with Pope Leo I.

The painting has the same elaborate Rococo frame as the contemporary monumental portrait of Count István Széchenyi by Friedrich von Amerling.