1590
oil
canvas
From the collection of Walters Art Museum
Allegory of the Element Earth is a 1590 oil by Leandro Bassano, a Mannerism work, held at Walters Art Museum.
Allegory to the Element Earth is a painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Leandro Bassano of about 1580, now in The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In the 16th century the world was thought to consist of four elements, each associated with the four seasons. Air was attributed to spring, fire to summer, earth to autumn, and water to winter. In 1648 a written work by Carlo Ridolfi records that Leandro Bassano's father, Jacopo, painted a series of allegories of the four elements for a prince. The series was likely installed in a single room of a palace or villa. The replica, presented here, is believed to have been painted by Leandro Bassano at his father's studio. The elder Bassano and his sons were the first in Italian art to fill…
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
In this work representing the element earth, several workers gather and carry fruits, vegetables, and game. The ancient Roman goddess of fertility, Cybele, drives across the sky in a wagon pulled by lions. The structure on the left alludes to a setting of a nobleman's villa. The table is draped with an oriental carpet and covered with sweets, fruits, and wine. The presence of these objects indicates that the land being worked by the servants does not belong to them. Several animals are also represented throughout the painting and are shown in coexistence despite their variety.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Source: wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Leandro Bassano (10 June 1557 – 15 April 1622), also called Leandro dal Ponte, was an Italian Renaissance painter from Bassano del Grappa who was awarded a knighthood by the Doge of Venice.
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