Baroque Allegories: Ideas and Imagery

During the Baroque Period allegorical figures became popular, decorating parlors and palaces alike. These paintings typically contained iconographic elements from Cesare Ripa’s seminal work Iconologia that allowed them to be identified as allegories. These widespread allegories conveyed a variety of hidden meanings ranging from to the nature of the relationship between man and music to the importance of religious virtue to proper gender roles in society.

The Baroque Period was a time of religious change. The Catholic Church decided to respond to the Protestant Reformation by encouraging artists to communicate religious themes in their works. The emerging middle class displayed its wealth through the purchase and display of artwork. Like religious art, these privately owned works also sought to instruct, not just delight. Finally, art was used as a means to elevate the status of the artist. Artists used allegorical figures to demonstrate their own skill with their medium.

During a time when many could not read, complex ideas could be illustrated through the use of striking or thought-provoking images. Even for those who could read, the rich imagery of these allegories reinforced the messages conveyed. Sometimes these underlying statements originated with the artist. At other times, these messages were requested by patrons. What ideas were communicated and how did the imagery and iconography used in Baroque painting convey such complex ideas through allegorical figure paintings?

Allegory of Music, Laurent de La Hyre, 1649, Oil on canvas, 50.189

The woman depicted, identified as an allegory by both the title and her exposed breast, balances a theorbo in her lap which she plucks with one hand and tunes with the other. To her side lies a small pile of lifeless instruments draped in shadows. The contrast between the dark, lifeless instruments and the pale glow of the musician shows the importance of the human element in making music. Even the lines of the composition direct the viewer’s eye back to the allegory of music. The songbird, a symbol of music, gazes at the musician, for only she can draw music from the instruments.

The Musicians, Caravaggio, ca. 1595, Oil on canvas, 52.81

This painting also acts as an allegory of music, although the message is different than La Hyre’s. The four boys are dressed in classical attire and the one on the left is Cupid, as indicated by the wings and bundle of arrows behind him. These elements indicate that this is an allegory. The boy in the center has tears in his eyes and the others’ expressions appear grieved. The likely source is the music they are playing. The sorrow displayed by the figures suggests that Caravaggio is emphasizing the importance of an emotional response to music. The crucial role played by humans in music is not just the making of music but also reacting to it on an emotional or spiritual level.

Cesare Dandini, Charity, c. 1607-1657, Oil on canvas, 69.283

The woman depicted here is also an allegorical figure. She is shown breastfeeding a child which is standard for allegorical depictions of Charity. This Baroque work would call to mind depictions of the Madonna and Child, especially in Catholic Florence where it originates from. The underlying message is that charitable, virtuous women care for and feed children. If you are a woman and seek to live a virtuous life as the Virgin Mary did, then the best thing you can do is bear children and raise them up. In this way, traditional gender roles for women are reinforced through art.

Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting, Artemesia Gentileschi, 1638-1639, Oil on canvas, British Royal Collection, RCIN 405551, Source: www.wikiart.com

In this work, Artemesia Gentileschi paints herself as an allegory of painting. At a time when there were few women painters, this was an opportunity to boost her own reputation. By making herself the allegorical figure, she claims to be so skilled so as to be considered an emblem of the craft. Male artists could not do the same since allegorical figures were always women. Gentileschi uses this to her advantage to portray herself as superior to her male counterparts. In this painting the iconography of an allegorical figure is used to make a profound social statement of female empowerment; women can paint just as well as men and ought to be viewed as equals, not as inferiors or mere child-bearers. This painting acts as a foil to Cesare Dandini’s “Charity.”

Jacopo Ligozzi, Allegory of Avarice, 1590, Oil on canvas, 1991.443

The woman painted here is an allegory of Avarice, which is typically depicted as a pale woman with a bag of coins. The skeleton leering over her shoulder sends a clear message: greed will lead to you destruction. This message is reinforced by the scene in the upper right corner of the same woman falling to the ground with a look of horror on her face while an unknown figure holds a sword above her. The narrative is collapsed into this single moment and the viewer can almost see the murder take place in front of them. This is characteristic of Baroque art. The symbols of death and the depiction of a murder in this allegory provide a warning about the destructive nature of greed.

Allegory of the Catholic Faith, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670-72, Oil on canvas, 32.100.18

This painting depicts an allegory for faith, the crucifix and chalice near the woman confirm that this allegory refers specifically to the Catholic faith. A globe symbolizing the world rests at her feet, partially covered by her dress. A serpent also lies near her feet, crushed by a cornerstone and vomiting blood. Vermeer uses prominent Biblical imagery to bolster the claims of the Catholic Church against Protestantism. It is the Catholic faith, not the Protestant faith that has overcome evil; the presence of Biblical images and metaphors is used as the basis for this argument. The allegory is used as a tool for Catholic evangelism.