ARTWORKS

An Allegory of True Love

Pieter Pourbus (1523–1584)

The Wallace Collection

An Allegory of True Love

Image credit: The Wallace Collection

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Pourbus’s masterpiece depicts a group of mythological and allegorical characters. The viewer’s gaze is met in the centre of the picture by an older man, Sapiens (Wisdom), who embraces Fidutia (Fidelity). She offers the wise man spiritual love sanctified by Christian matrimony, while the other figures warn the viewer of the folly of carnal love. The complex subject reflects Pourbus’s involvement with the erudite circles of the Bruges Chambers of Rhetoric while the elegant figures reveal his debt to Italian mannerism. The lively landscape background and naturalistic detail also clearly demonstrate the development of naturalism in painting in the Southern Netherlands.

The Wallace Collection

London

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Title

An Allegory of True Love

Date

c.1547

Medium

oil on oak panel

Measurements

H 132.8 x W 205.7 cm

Accession number

P531

Acquisition method

acquired by Sir Richard Wallace, 1872; bequeathed to the nation by Lady Wallace, 1897

Work type

Painting

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The Wallace Collection

Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, Greater London W1U 3BN England

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Artist or maker

Pieter Pourbus

1523–1584

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