Universal Principles of Art

2 ALLEGORY

ABSTRACT IDEAS COMMUNICATED WITH CONCRETE IMAGES

Allegory is a device whereby abstract ideas can be communicated using images of the concrete world. Elements, whether figures or objects, in a painting or sculpture are endowed with symbolic meaning. Their relationships and interactions combine to create more complex meanings.

The success of an allegorical work naturally depends on the audience’s ability to recognize the identities and corresponding symbolic meanings of each of the elements within the work. A famous example is Titian’s Allegory of Age Governed by Prudence. Here, the three human heads represent the past, present, and future. They also represent the three ages of man: youth, maturity, and old age. Beneath them three animal ...