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Allegory of Life
Artist: Giorgio Ghisi (Italian (Mantua), 1520-1582)
Date: 1561
Dimensions:
14 7/8 x 21 1/4 in. (38.2 x 54.1 cm)
Medium: engraving
Classification: Prints
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1982.90
Label Text:The meaning of this fascinating and haunting image remains unclear. The Latin inscriptions below the man and woman are quotes from Book 6 of Virgil’s Aeneid: “The unhappy one sits and will sit forever”; and “Do not yield to adversaries, but go out and meet them bravely.” The context of the inscriptions is Aeneas’s descent into the underworld, where he encounters the shade (spirit) of his father. While not an illustration of any one particular episode, the image appears to be a moral allegory warning against the temptations of idleness and the vain pursuit of virtue.
The fantastical sea creatures, hybrid monsters, and demonic leopards and lions are personifications of luxury, pride, and greed, among other worldly temptations. The creatures are references to Dante’s 14th-century epic poem Inferno (Hell).
The fantastical sea creatures, hybrid monsters, and demonic leopards and lions are personifications of luxury, pride, and greed, among other worldly temptations. The creatures are references to Dante’s 14th-century epic poem Inferno (Hell).
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