An allegory of Peace, Art, and Abundance. Hans von Aachen

The picture of the German artist Hans von Aachen “Allegory of Peace, Art and Abundance” is a vivid example of the complex, and sometimes contradictory, art of mannerism. Painters of that time were interested in ideas and themes of a mythological, religious, and allegorical nature.

Because scholastic ideas and ways of thinking come into contact with naive fantasies and begin their interpenetration into each other, giving rise to a special means of representation, when an abstract concept is transmitted using a real character.

Most often these are allegorical images of peace and war, love and hate, justice and discord, glory and shame portrayed as human beings. Continue reading →