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Allegory of Art

1595
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 690
Carefully signed by the artist with the place and date of execution, this drawing was likely made as an entry in an album amicorum, or friendship album—a collection of drawn and written tributes to an individual patron or associate. The nude woman holding the brushes, palette, mahlstick, and coat of arms of the Guild of Saint Luke is an unmistakable personification of the art of painting. The meaning of the devil breathing fire on her leg is less obvious, but it may allude to the idea that art itself can be a dangerous temptation.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Allegory of Art
  • Artist: Joachim Lüchteke (German, active 1595)
  • Date: 1595
  • Medium: Pen and black ink, brush and coloured washes, heightened with white, over red chalk
  • Dimensions: sheet: 8 1/16 x 6 in. (20.5 x 15.2 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund and Susan H. Seidel Gift, 2006
  • Object Number: 2006.88
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Lucretia, Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio or Santi) Italian, Pen and brown ink over black chalk, partially incised with a stylus (recto); rubbed with black chalk for transfer (verso)
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