The Age of Allegory

This paper examines the uses of allegory in early modern and contemporary art. I discuss allegory as a poetic and visual means, creating a multiplicity of meanings, and positing the image as a ruin. Referencing previous discussions of allegory by Walter Benjamin (1963, 2010), Peter Burke (1997), Craige Owens (1980), among others, I discuss the reliance of allegory on iconographical precedents and its fragmentary nature. These points are exemplified through paintings from the 17th century, by Peter Paul Rubens and Diego Velazquez, and contemporary artworks by Joseph Beuys and Francis Alÿs.