Jan Vermeer. Allegory of painting. Allegory of the Catholic Faith
Thick plain weave canvas, duplicated. Overall the painting is in a good state of preservation; the most extensive loss of the author's painting is in the image of the white sleeve.
Restoration: 1996 (Pushkin Museum, G.M. Erkhova) - removal of late darkened contaminated varnish.
Faith (lat. Fides) is one of the three most important Christian virtues, along with Hope (Speranza) and Love (Charity, Caritas). In accordance with iconographic tradition, she is represented in the guise of a woman with traditional attributes: in right hand she holds a cup, above which a round wafer is visible - symbols of Holy Communion, and with her left touches her chest - a gesture characteristic of this type of image.
Traditionally it was considered a work of Guercino and entered the museum under his name. In accordance with Libman's assumption, the painting was at one time attributed to Cristofano Allori, which was reflected in the catalog of the exhibition of Italian painting in 1961 (1961 Moscow). In 1966, the original attribution was confirmed verbally by Mahon. The artist's authorship is also confirmed by the inscription on the etching, made from Guercino's original in 1783 by Francesco Rosaspina (1762-1841): Fides/Ex Tabula Francisci Barbieri in/Aedibus Com. Sen. Hieronimi Ranuzzi (Alberghini 1991, no. 151; Bernucci, Pasini 1995, p. 12, 13, fig. 3). From the inscription it follows that the painting from the collection of the Pushkin Museum from the moment of its creation until 1783 was in the house of Senator Girolamo Ranuzzi in Bologna.
In the “Book of Accounts” (Libro dei conti) a work that matches the title of the Pushkin Museum painting is not found. It can be assumed that it was recorded as a "painting with a half-figure" (un quadro di mezza figura) and in this case cannot be identified. Based on the style of the work, Mahon proposed dating the Moscow painting around 1634.
A copy of a painting from the Pushkin Museum, executed by I. Akimov in 1776, is in Art Museum Sinebrykhof in Helsinki (canvas, m. 104 x 79.5; Supinen 1988, p. 10, inv. A 1414). In the museum catalog it is listed as a copy of Allori’s original (without indicating the name), located in the Hermitage.
A similar composition with female figure Rosaspina repeated it in another etching, also executed in 1783; Having slightly changed the details, he transformed it into an image of Saint Lucia (Bernucci, Pasini 1995, fig. 4).
Origin: in XVII-XVIII centuries collection Senator Girolamo Ranuzzi (Bologna); 1920 from collection Counts Vorontsov-Dashkov (Petrograd) post. to the Hermitage; from 1924 at the Pushkin Museum.
Exhibitions: 1923 Petrograd, hall I (Guercino); 1961 Moscow, p. 13 ill. (Cristofano Allori); 1997 Tokyo-Tendo-Okazaki-Akita. Cat., No. 9 (Guercino).
Literature: Zharnovsky 1924, p. 39 (everywhere - Guercino); Markova 1981, p. 286 ill., 287, 289; Cat. Pushkin Museum 1986, p. 52; Markova 1992, p. 197 ill.; Cat. Pushkin Museum 1995, p. 147 ill.
Allegorie op het geloof) - painting Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, executed between 1670 and 1672. Was transferred by will from private collection Michael Friedsem Michael Friedsam) to the Metropolitan Museum of New York in 1931, where it is currently located.
History of creation
Like many other artists of his time, Jan Vermeer became interested in Italian academicism with its characteristic allegorical painting. It was after this influence that he began to paint paired paintings - “Allegory of Painting” and “Allegory of Faith” (sometimes found under the name “Allegory catholic faith"). However, the success that the first film received, “Allegory of Faith” could not be repeated. Despite the difficult financial situation, Jan Vermeer did not part with these paintings until his death.
The plot of the picture
Vermeer began the semantic structure of the composition at the bottom of the picture, where a snake is depicted crushed by a stone (the snake is a symbol of Satan, the stone is Jesus). The globe represents the whole world and humanity above which a woman is located, as a symbol of faith and a communion cup on the table. On the wall there is a painting depicting the scene of the crucifixion of Jesus with John the Theologian present on it, as an image of wisdom. On top of his head there is a ball, which represents the embodiment of the wisdom bestowed by God and thereby completes the diagonal of the composition. Vermeer thereby emphasizes that humanity will achieve wisdom through faith and love for Christ. The woman is depicted with her hand on her heart and her gaze directed at the crucifix on the wall, which speaks of love and desire for God with all her soul. The world is under her skirt and the foot of her right foot, which was intended to convey the idea of the inconsistency of the world without faith, since an unsecured ball will simply roll. In the woman’s pose and gaze, the artist tried to convey her elevated state of religious ecstasy. However, many researchers of his work emphasize that he could not fully realize this idea, because at the first glance at a woman, she evokes pity and seems to be in despair.
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Excerpt characterizing the Allegory of Faith (picture)
My throat became very sore and for some time I could not squeeze out a word. It was very painful because of such a heavy loss, and, at the same time, I was sad for this “restless” person, for whom it would be oh, how difficult it would be to exist with such a burden...- I am Svetlana. And this is Stella. We're just hanging out here. We visit friends or help someone when we can. True, there are no friends left now...
- Forgive me, Svetlana. Although it probably won’t change anything if I ask you for forgiveness every time... What happened happened, and I can’t change anything. But I can change what will happen, right? - the man glared at me with his eyes blue as the sky and, smiling, a sad smile, said: - And yet... You say I am free in my choice?.. But it turns out - not so free, dear... It looks more like atonement... Which I agree with, of course. But it is your choice that I am obliged to live for your friends. Because they gave their lives for me... But I didn’t ask for this, right?.. Therefore, it’s not my choice...
I looked at him, completely dumbfounded, and instead of “proud indignation” that was ready to immediately burst from my lips, I gradually began to understand what he was talking about... No matter how strange or offensive it may sound - but all this was the honest truth! Even if I didn't like it at all...
Yes, I was very pained for my friends, for the fact that I would never see them again... that I would no longer have our wonderful, “eternal” conversations with my friend Luminary, in his strange cave filled with light and warmth ... that the laughing Maria would no longer show us the funny places that Dean had found, and her laughter would not sound like a merry bell... And it was especially painful because this complete stranger to us would now live instead of them...
But, again, on the other hand, he did not ask us to interfere... He did not ask us to die for him. I didn't want to take someone's life. And now he will have to live with this heavy burden, trying to “pay off” with his future actions the guilt that was not really his fault... Rather, it was the fault of that terrible, unearthly creature, which, having captured the essence of our stranger, killed “right and left.”
But it certainly wasn't his fault...
How could it be possible to decide who was right and who was wrong if the same truth was on both sides?.. And, without a doubt, to me, a confused ten-year-old girl, life seemed at that moment too complicated and too many-sided to be possible. somehow decide only between “yes” and “no”... Since in each of our actions there were too many different sides and opinions, and it seemed incredibly difficult to find the right answer that would be correct for everyone...
– Do you remember anything at all? Who were you? What is your name? How long have you been here? – in order to get away from a sensitive and unpleasant topic, I asked.
The stranger thought for a moment.
- My name was Arno. And I only remember how I lived there on Earth. And I remember how I “left”... I died, didn’t I? And after that I can’t remember anything else, although I really would like to...
Accidentally caught my eye famous painting no less famous John Vermeer of Delft. (click on reproduction from high resolution 3000x4000).
This painting is called “an allegory of the Catholic faith” and is almost the epicenter of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Naturally, since the picture itself is called “allegory”, I think that the most art historians will not have the nerve to pull out their constant bagpipe “it’s just drawn like that”, “it’s just how it was customary to draw at that time and it doesn’t make any sense.” For the simple reason that the very name “allegory” implies a certain meaning in every detail.
Let's see what's interesting here.
The first thing that catches your eye is the lady, who, apparently, personifies the faith - or rather, the papal “church”.
It is not at all unexpected that this lady has her head uncovered. Her hair color is more dark than red, although she herself sits in semi-darkness, so it’s difficult to say for sure.
The lady has two curious features -
1) colors of clothing (white and blue) - clearly associated with water (cf. the apocalyptic harlot who “sits on many waters.”
2) the wife’s jewelry, presented in the form of scatterings of pearls (the only jewel that is mined in water, and not in the ground) in all places
The hands are especially interesting. 
They are interesting not because of what is, but because of what is not. No wedding ring. Which in Europe has always been a symbol of betrothal or marriage itself (or investiture). This lady is not betrothed to be Christ’s “bride.” In combination with an uncovered head and bare shoulders, one can draw a completely unambiguous conclusion about social status this ladies.
A strange pose - the lady is obviously in an ecstatic state, rolling her eyes and pressing her hand to her chest. Moreover, she sits with her BACK to the objects that are supposed to induce an ecstatic state - the image of the Crucifixion (of which there are two). Very strange. Where is she looking?
We can somehow view the rest of the room - in the reflection of the crystal ball hanging above her head.
The difference between luxury “in the frame” and what is “behind the frame” - emptiness, darkness and even traces of the destruction of the house - absence entrance doors, broken windows, strange garbage on the floor, dark trash stuffed in the corners.
Having lowered our eyes a little, we suddenly discover on the tapestry... mermaids.
Moreover, male mermaids. Let me remind you that “mermaids” are a symbolic image. In general, the entire tapestry is, in terms of ornamentation, a nightmarish mix of flower and octopus motifs, which is unlikely to occur to a normal artist.
In front of the tapestry is a small crucifix in the ultra-Catholic style - the figure of the crucified man hangs on the cross in such a way that it is completely unclear why the cross is needed - after all, the arms are nailed almost at the very vertical base - the crucified man himself does not at all repeat the figure of the Cross. Traditionally, bent knees - the crucified person is not standing alive, but hanging dead (in fact, that’s why the knees are bent). Naturally, there are no “foots” or inscriptions. 
It is interesting that there are two crucifixes in the picture.
And the second one is even stranger.
First of all, it is not a cross. It is three-pointed (T-shaped), and the inscription is nailed at the joint. What is written - I can’t say - I can’t make out
Even more strange is that the crossbar in each half is L-shaped
Thus, the cross in this picture has a shape that is absolutely incredible for a Christian
This is confirmed by the mysterious faces surrounding the cross.
IN Christian tradition the canon depicting the Crucifixion of Christ - on one side is the Blessed Virgin Mary, on the other - the holy Apostle John the Theologian, and at the foot - the myrrh-bearing wife (often one St. Mary Magdalene, as a symbolic image of them all).
Here the people around are completely mysterious faces.
At first I thought that the figure in dark to the left of the Cross (to the right of the Crucified One) was someone who was supposed to depict the Virgin Mary. But with sufficient magnification 
It is easy to see that the dark spot on the left on the neck is not a shadow, but a beard, but above upper lip The sparse mustache is clearly visible. And the hooked nose itself and small, close-set eyes do not at all fit even with the papist manner of depicting the Madonna - not to mention the Blessed Virgin.
The Cross of Christ did not have any bearded faces with hooked noses. in similar clothes. The crucified man in this picture is not Christ.
The other faces around the cross are no less strange.
The man on the right is apparently instead of St. John the Evangelist.
There is something strange about his right arm stretched forward - both with its size (according to such proportions, it should reach his knee) and with its position - it sticks out not from the shoulder, but from the void. Well, this is Wemeer - he’s a genius, and with geniuses everything is genius. Not in this case.
The fact is that this creature has an indeterminate gender
Along with his rather obvious Adam's apple, he has a woman's hairstyle and woman's face(puffy lips included). However, maybe it’s not an Adam’s apple, but a sagging double chin from malnutrition.
The most mysterious thing is left hand this person of unknown gender. She is completely covered with a cloak (which is very similar to a hoodie monastic orders). And not just covered - she is holding something, completely covered with cloth. Moreover, the position of the hand and the shape of the fabric leave only one interpretation - he has a child in his arms, hidden under a cloak.
None. This is not the crucifixion of Christ.
Instead of Mary Magdalene, at the foot of the creature sits.... Two-Faced
His gender is also mysterious, although the light stubble (the shadows on his right cheek seem to have nowhere to form) hints at a matured young man. Perhaps the thing to the right of it is a wing. The child in front of him confirms the suspicion that these are “heavenly forces”. Smiling thoughtful face" Heavenly forces"who have no interest in the person crucified near them (and they are located where, in theory, blood should flow from the cross in a stream)
What does all this have to do with the Gospel?
None.
I’ll say it for the third time - the crucified man in this picture is not our Lord Jesus Christ.
The weirdness doesn't end there. The book that lies in front of the lady is also strange. 
Let's pay attention to the position of the fasteners. It shows where the book is up and where it is down. From these clasps we can conclude that the book is facing the lady. What is natural is that the plot assumes that the lady was reading this book (apparently before falling into ecstasy).
The problem is that, judging by the letters on the open page, this book is upside down.
How can we reconcile the fact that according to the clasps this book is lying normally, but according to the letters it is upside down?
The only explanation is that the book was specifically written literally perversio - i.e. perverted, perverted.
What is depicted on the open page is difficult to understand - most likely, this is the plan of the tabernacle or sanctuary of the Jerusalem Temple.
Let's go a little lower. 
A lady in stylish sea green flip-flops is trampling a globe with her right foot. The globe is very strange. Even if you apply strong contrast to the visible half of it, it is impossible to find any correspondence to the earth's map. And this is already the time of Peter the Great. The nautical maps of Europe, Africa and America were already practically very close to modern ones. But there is nothing here. Instead, strange round formations that have no correspondence with geographical objects. But they are one-to-one similar to the craters that can be observed through a telescope on the Moon.
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The color of the globe confirms the hunch that the papal faith stands powerfully on the Moon. Perhaps this is an allusion to the apocalyptic wife who “even a month is under her feet.” But it looks more occult than iconographic.
The left foot in a similar stylish flip-flop points to a rose lying on the floor 
Under the rose we suddenly see the Apple logo. Nibbled apple
Actually, to understand that religious ecstasy covered the lady after biting off a piece of the forbidden fruit, you don’t need much imagination.
Next to the forbidden fruit is a serpent that emits a river of blood
Moreover, the serpent was killed not with a cross, but with a stone slab - a completely clear indication of “free masons” who tasted the forbidden fruit and escaped the serpent - a blunder.
All this splendor is located on a chessboard (let me remind you that until the 18th century, chess in Europe was an occult activity, and in Rus' people were excommunicated from the Church for playing chess, since they were associated with Jewish Kabbalah, which actually corresponded to reality)
Even the chair has a design that seems very strange to me (in terms of the number of transverse elements) and more reminiscent of Gnostic teachings about the multilayered nature of the world than a chair for sitting.
The tapestry, in addition to the sudden resemblance to the coat of arms of the French kings 
depicts an absolutely nightmarish creature with a bloody cut instead of a face, chopped off arms and legs, whose right foot is screwed to the left leg, and the left to the right (so that the bend of the foot is turned outward at both feet)
Judging by this allegory of the papacy, the inquisitors burned at the stake not the enemies of the church, but their competitors in the service of Satan.
Like many other artists of his time, Jan Vermeer eventually became interested in Italian academicism with its characteristic allegorical painting. It was after this influence that he began to paint the paintings “Allegory of Painting” and “Allegory of Faith” (sometimes found under the name “Allegory of the Catholic Faith”). However, the success that the first film received, “Allegory of Faith” could not be repeated. Despite the difficult financial situation, Jan Vermeer did not part with these paintings until his death.
Vermeer began the semantic structure of the composition at the bottom of the picture, where a snake is depicted crushed by a stone (the snake is a symbol of Satan, the stone is Jesus). The globe represents the whole world and humanity above which is a woman, as a symbol of faith and a communion cup on the table. On the wall there is a painting depicting the scene of the crucifixion of Jesus with John the Theologian present on it, as an image of wisdom. On top of his head there is a ball, which represents the embodiment of the wisdom bestowed by God and thereby completes the diagonal of the composition. Vermeer thereby emphasizes that humanity will achieve wisdom through faith and love for Christ. The woman is depicted with her hand on her heart and her gaze directed at the crucifix on the wall, which speaks of love and desire for God with all her soul. The world is under her skirt and the foot of her right foot, which was intended to convey the idea of the insolvency of the world without faith, since an unsecured ball will simply roll. In the woman’s pose and gaze, the artist tried to convey her elevated state of religious ecstasy. However, many researchers of his work emphasize that he could not fully realize this idea, because at the first glance at a woman, she evokes pity and seems to be in despair.
Vermeer "Allegory of Painting (Artist's Workshop)" 1673, oil on canvas, 130 x 110 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
The painting “Allegory of Painting” has several names. Vermeer's canvas is also called: “The Artist's Workshop”, “The Artist and the Model”, “The Art of Painting”.
Vermeer was especially proud of this work. Even after his death, Katarina tried to save her from her creditors. In 1676, she transferred the rights to the painting to her mother, Maria Thins, in payment for debts. At the beginning of the 20th century it ended up in a museum in Vienna.
It is believed that the painting belongs to one of latest works great artist. “Allegory of Painting” is a pair for the painting “Allegory of Faith”. The name itself suggests that Jan Vermeer, when creating this picture, had in mind an allegorical image of painting, its symbolic image.
The central figure is the artist himself, then, in descending order of importance for the art of painting, there is the model, the muse, then the plot of the painting (the map, the attributes of “Glory” in the hands of the girl, the mask and drapery on the table), but the action takes place behind the curtain, i.e. e. the creative process must be hidden from the viewer, who is only allowed to look, but not participate.
Dressed in a doublet with slits on the back and elbows and rengraved trousers, a beret, which was already considered the headdress of bohemia (and peasants) in those days, the artist sits in front of an easel with his back to the viewer. The unusual outfit seems overly festive, but for Vermeer’s contemporaries it also had another meaning. Such clothing went out of fashion even before the artist was born; it looked approximately as if the artist had depicted himself in a post-war jacket in 2000. This emphasized the “timelessness” of the painter.
The model with which Vermeer paints the picture is also endowed with symbolic attributes: Laurel wreath on the head, which is a symbol of victory; trumpet - a symbol of glory; in the girl’s hands is a volume of the historian Thucydides, which suggests that painting seeks inspiration in history and historical achievements. There is also an assumption that the girl-muse in this picture (possibly Vermeer’s wife, she was 35 years old at the time).
The empty canvas has been a symbol since the Renaissance artistic idea, which becomes only in the process of work artistically. Only the outlines were drawn and the artist began to draw a laurel wreath on the girl’s head. It can be seen that this is more likely to be a portrait than a full-length figure.
The map on the wall, like the artist’s clothing, takes the viewer to an earlier time. The unusual orientation for a modern viewer, not north-south, but west-east, nevertheless allows one to recognize the outlines of the Netherlands.
The map drawn up by Vischer around 1636 depicts not the area of the seven United Provinces, but all 17 of the old provinces of the Netherlands that existed before the truce of 1609. To the right and left of the map are views of cities, the inscription at the top “OCEANUS GERMANICUS” and “GERMANIA INFERIOR” - the old Latin name of the Netherlands.
The chandelier with the Habsburg eagle also refers the viewer to the times of the “Pacification of Ghent”. On the table in front of Clio there is a mask that can symbolize a specific historical figure, V in this context- most likely William I of Orange, who united all the Dutch provinces in 1576.
The left side of the painting is hidden by a tapestry curtain, which gives the painting some mystery; the viewer is only allowed to look at the process of creating the painting from behind it; the artist is busy and does not want to be interrupted from his work. The dark folds of the curtain, folded over the back of the chair, contrast with the brightly lit triangle of the wall.
The brightest point of the picture is also the center of vanishing perspective. Vermeer, like his contemporaries, used a specific technique for constructing perspective. A pin was stuck into the vanishing center (infinity point), from which came a cord rubbed with coal. The trace left by the cord on the canvas made it possible to construct a perspective of any complexity. A small pin hole is located between Clio's hand with the pipe and the knob of the card rod.
HISTORY OF THE PICTURE
The further history of the painting remains unknown until 1813, when it was purchased in Vienna for 50 florins by the Bohemian Count Czernin.
In the 20th century, the Chernin family exhibited the painting along with works by Titian and Dürer in their Vienna palace. American millionaire Andrew Mellon approached the owner with a proposal to purchase the masterpiece, but even the efforts of the count's brother-in-law, Kurt Schuschnigg, were not enough to obtain permission to export national treasure from Austria.
After the Anschluss, the famous connoisseur of painting, Goering, coveted the “Allegory of Painting,” but Count Chernin chose to sell it for a lesser amount (1.65 million marks) to Hitler himself. On October 11, 1940, the director of the Museum of Art History personally presented the painting to the Fuhrer, and Chernin sent him a letter of gratitude.
After the war, this deal was considered voluntary, and when the painting was found hidden in a salt mine near Munich in 1945, the American command handed it over to the Austrian government.
