Allegory of Life (1561): Art, History and Details

Allegory of Life (1561) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Giorgio Ghisi (Italian, 1520–1582).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This engraving presents a complex allegory whose complete meaning remains unclear, although the plaques at the feet of the man and woman may provide one clue. The inscriptions come from the sixth book of Virgil’s Aeneid: "He who sits unfortunate will sit forever," and "Do not yield to adversities, but go out to meet them bravely." The print’s details do not correspond directly to any episode from Virgil, although book six, in which Aeneas descends into the underworld, is an allegory of human life. A similar theme could be suggested here, communicating an essentially hopeful message of overcoming tribulation.

Object facts

• Title: Allegory of Life
• Date: 1561
• Creator attribution: Giorgio Ghisi (Italian, 1520–1582)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Image: 38.1 x 54.4 cm (15 x 21 7/16 in.); Secondary Support: 43.1 x 59.4 cm (16 15/16 x 23 3/8 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1985.37

A detail from the museum

Ghisi was trained in the creation of luxury metalwork, specifically armor, informing his highly skilled and complex engraving of the copperplate used to make this print.

Collection credit

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.