Allegory (?)
17th Century, oil, canvas, 110 x 87 cm
NG S 1978, National Gallery of Slovenia, Ljubljana
Both the motif and the artist of this important painting are for the present still unknown. The identification of the two allegorical figures is uncertain. The male, crowned with a laurel wreath, probably represents Honour. The female, whom the male is crowning and to whom he is presenting a golden chain, is probably Fidelity, but in that case the animal at the lower right should be a dog, not, as it appears, a calf.
The perspective, which is calculated to be viewed from below, suggests that the painting was intended as a ceiling decoration, or to be hung high up on a wall.
The style is typically Venetian and indicates strong and close links with the painting of Pietro Liberi (Padua 1605–Venice 1687), to whom, however, we cannot attribute this work. The artist who painted this picture must be sought in Liberi’s inner circle at the time around 1650.
Restored: 1982, Kemal Selmanović.
Provenance: Dr. Ivo Černe, Ljubljana, until his death in 1976, then his heirs; purchased by the Narodna galerija, Ljubljana, 1982.
Exhibition: 1983, Ljubljana, No. 11.
Lit.: Zeri [& Rozman] 1983, p. 108, Cat. and Fig. No. 11.