Allegory of Life, 1561. Two figures appear here in contrasting landscapes. On the left, an old man stands at the edge of a turbulent body of water before dense woods and jagged peaks enveloped in rainy darkness. A ship has wrecked, and a variety of sea creatures and other real and mythical beasts turn their attention toward him. He reaches out to the voluptuous, crowned woman on the right, who strides forward from a verdant grove. Three putti fly above her, one of whom prepares to shoot an arrow at the old man. In the distance the rising sun illuminates a small village. The complete meaning of
Allegory of Life, 1561. Two figures appear here in contrasting landscapes. On the left, an old man stands at the edge of a turbulent body of water before dense woods and jagged peaks enveloped in rainy darkness. A ship has wrecked, and a variety of sea creatures and other real and mythical beasts turn their attention toward him. He reaches out to the voluptuous, crowned woman on the right, who strides forward from a verdant grove. Three putti fly above her, one of whom prepares to shoot an arrow at the old man. In the distance the rising sun illuminates a small village. The complete meaning of this complex allegory remains unclear, though the plaques at the feet of the man and woman may provide an important clue. The Latin inscriptions come from the sixth book of Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid (29-19 BC): "He who sits unfortunate will sit forever," and "Do not yield to adversities, but go out to meet them ; The print's details do not correspond directly to any episode from Virgil, but book six, in which Aeneas descends into the underworld, is an allegory of human life. A similar theme could be suggested here, communicating an essentially hopeful message of overcoming misfortune.
Size: 6260px × 4501px
Photo credit: © Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1520-1582, 16th, art, century, cleveland, engraving, ghisi, giorgio, heritage, italian, italy, museum, print
