Allegory of the Catholic Faith
ca. 1670-72
Vermeer steps way outside his usual cozy domestic scenes here to paint a room bursting with heavy religious symbolism. A woman representing the Catholic Faith sits with her foot crushing a globe, her hand on her heart, gazing up at a glass orb hanging from the ceiling. Behind her looms a massive painting of the Crucifixion, while a snake lies defeated on the checkered floor next to a discarded apple. It’s basically a visual puzzle book of Counter-Reformation ideas, showing how Vermeer, a Catholic living in Protestant Holland, expressed his faith through complex allegory.
- Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Material
- Oil on canvas
Location: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Views: 8