Being an English teacher, I often have
to deal with the issue of not having an exact answer for what a work
means. We can do a close reading of a text, focusing on every
detail, deciphering diction, and distinguishing tone to come up with
an analysis, but unless an author has left an explicit explanation of
exactly what he or she had in mind, we are often left to come up with
our own interpretation.
In the case of Peter Paul Rubens'
Allegory of the Outbreak of War
(1638), Rubens wrote a letter that explained exactly what he had in
mind when he was painting. Every figure represents an idea.
The central figure of the work is Mars, the Roman god of war who
rushes forward with a shield and blood-stained sword, ignoring his
mistress Venus and the Cupid/ Amor figures who dance around her.
Monsters personifying Pestilence and Famine represent the terrible
by-products of War. There is a woman with a broken lute who
represents Harmony being shattered, and a cast-aside olive branch
shows that there is no hope for Peace. There is a frightened mother
with her child, showing that the Future is threatened.
To the left of Mars is a grief-stricken
woman with a torn veil. The woman represents Europe, showing what
war has done to the continent. (From 1562-1721, there were only four
years that all of the countries of Europe were in a state of peace
instead of war.)
(Gardner 555)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
| |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment