Painting Detail
Allegory of Peace Art and AbundanceArtist: Aachen Hans Van
Medium: Painting, Oil on canvas, 197x142 cm
Date: 1602
Genre: Allegory, Mythology
Source: Gatchina Palace Museum, 1925
This allegory is a characteristic example of the work of Hans von Aachen, typical representative of the unusual, very cosmopolitan school of painting which developed in Prague at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries at the court of the Emperor Rudolf II.
The woman with her olive branch and weapons thrown down symbolises Peace, while the figure in the background with a sphere and palette in her hands represents the free arts. The symbolism was intended to praise the Emperor\'s peaceful policies, which had led to prosperity and the flourishing of the arts and sciences. Allegorical content, an unstable composition in which movement is directed along diagonals, aristocratic elongated proportions and disturbing lighting are all elements of this school, which contained an eclectic mixture of the achievements of Italian Mannerism and Netherlandish influences.
The dull colouring is broken by flashes of bright red. We gain a sense of mystery and of something left unsaid, characteristic of the emotional tone of Mannerist art.