Allegory in Art

From Greek and Latin words meaning ‘speaking otherwise than one seems to speak’, painters of the past relied on allegory to create ‘message pictures’. These images often included figures symbolising different emotional states, love or envy for example, or personified abstract concepts such as sight, glory or beauty. Allegorical paintings were once thought to rival literary works or political oratory in their power and influence. But they can puzzle modern viewers…

Looking at paintings such as Botticelli’s ‘Primavera’, Bronzino’s ‘ An Allegory with Venus and Cupid’ and Caravaggio’s ‘ Allegory of Music’; this day school will explain the main types of visual allegory in Western Art, the meaning behind the paintings and the context in which they were created.