| Allegory of Peace | |
|---|---|
| Dutch:Allegorie op de vrede | |
 Allegory of Peace | |
| Artist | Jan Lievens |
| Year | 1652 (1652) |
| Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
| Subject | Peace |
| Dimensions | 217 cm (85 in) × 211 cm (83 in) |
| Weight | 44 kg (97 lb) |
| Location | Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam |
Allegory of Peace orTriumph of Peace is a 1652oil-on-canvas painting by Dutch artistJan Lievens. The painting represents the 1648Treaty of Münster and depictsMinerva, the goddess of wisdom, crowningPax, the goddess of peace.
Allegory of Peace is a painting byJan Lievens, completed in 1652. The painting is in theRijksmuseum inAmsterdam.[1] It is an allegorical celebration of theTreaty of Münster. The 1648 treaty ended decades of conflict between Spain and the Netherlands.[2]
The work is a 217 cm (85 in) × 211 cm (83 in)oil-on-canvas painting and weighs 44 kg (97 lb). The painting shows a seated female who represents peace being crowned with alaurel wreath by a woman who is clad in armour who represents war. Under her feet lies a man in armor with a sword, his hands wrapped in chains. On her left, women have baskets of fruit and aputto is playing a drum. On her right two otherputti put chains on the man's feet. Also on her right are more putti and women with flowers.[1] The painting depictsMinerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, crowningPax, the goddess of peace, who holds an olive branch.[2] The man in chains under the feet of Pax isMars, the god of war.[3]
Author David Charles Preyer stated that the composition of the painting is "awkward" and that Peace "squints dreadfully" but that the beauty of the small angels help to redeem the painting.[4] TheNational Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C., states that the painting has complex iconography.[2] Art criticKen Johnson writing forThe New York Times said it "falls far short of the kind of dynamism that Rubens could bring to such mythological symbolism" and calls it a "big, sugary allegory" with winged putti fluttering about.[3]
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