Some artists seek to dazzle, others to inform, yet others to impress through their works of art. However, in some exceptional cases, artists seek to attain all the above in one single work of art. The 16th-century oil painting dubbed the Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples by Paolo de Matteis is an example of such comprehensive and all-rounded art. On a first impression, the painting simply confounds. There is so much to see and too much to see about it that a casual observer may simply give up and move on, However, careful evaluation of the painting tells a story about one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the history of the earth. The painting’s title also provides the reader with an idea of what to expect from a work of art. The statement allegory of knowledge and the arts in Naples creates an impression of both mystery and temerity. The work allegory reflects an element of mystery while seeking to reflect knowledge and arts in Naples through one painting is a manifestation of the extremities of temerity. In the painting Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples , Paolo de Matteis exhibits both mystery and temerity by squeezing the exponentially elaborate story about art and knowledge in Naples into a single oil painting.
First Impression
My first impression was that the Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples was a shambled mess of a painting that did not warrant a lot of attention. The painting is definitively captivating, as it will pull the viewer to look at it. However, upon closer perusal, so many details seem to jump at the viewer that it is initially confounding. It seems a collection of different paintings jumbled together. Indeed, some of the figures inside the painting seem to be painting themselves. The name of the painting: Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples is more of a challenge than a description. It pulls the viewer to try to understand how such a feat can be attained in one painting. Therein lies the temerity of the artist.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Important Details in the Painting
The most important detail in the painting Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples is human or humanoid figures. There is at least 17, from both genders, including a few children. All the human figures in the painting are both holding something and doing something. It appears that the allegory presented by the artist in the painting combines who the figures are, what the figure is holding and what the figures are doing. There is a little bit of nudity in the painting but it never has sexual undertones. It is interesting how the artist presents adult nudity but makes it look as innocent as when children appear in the nude. The painting also has a top-down kind of cascade, with the top segment having exponential beauty while the bottom part is almost grotesque. The two figures at the very top are a woman who looks more like an angel, and a baby who clearly looks like an angel. At the very bottom, there is a man lying face down and another man sitting on his back. Each of the two extremities exemplifies the mystery that engulfs the entire painting. At the center is a woman wearing a crown, perhaps a monarch. She is in the process of finishing a painting that has in it an angel and a naked woman. Two children, who seem to be flying, are holding the painting in place! Once again, it all seems like a complex mystery. It is evident that the artist is telling a story, but one had to wonder what story it is. Just like in abstract art, different viewers will come up with different explanations about the different figures.
Summary of the Overall Appearance of the Painting
The logical summary of the painting points to a city that is abuzz with activity, including art and knowledge. The city is also so advanced that the lines between mortals and terrestrials are blurred. It is hard to tell who in the painting is human and who is superhuman. Similarly, the painting depicts a perfect world, akin to the biblical garden of Aden where nudity is noble and does not carry any sexual undertones or connotations. The idea of people being naked and not ashamed perhaps points to a high level of civilization and sophistication. With regard to art, the painting depicts painters in Naples as being human and superhuman creators. On the one hand, there is a woman who is painting a child. However, the child is also carrying a mask, which might depict the child being an actor. On the other hand, another painter is creating what seems to be heaven or a terrestrial place that even has Angels or perhaps a deity. The dominant man in the painting is holding an oar, perhaps a reference to Naples being on a coastal area.
Over and above art, the painting also presents a lot relating to knowledge. For example, the woman at the top is holding a perfect triangle, perhaps a reference to mathematics and the concept of geometry. On the right side is a young man holding a scroll, another reference to learning. The child at the very top is holding what seems to be lenses, perhaps another reference to science. The woman with the triangle and the young man with the scroll are exceptionally well dressed, perhaps a reference to how highly the Naples community regarded learning. The artist's temerity in seeking to portray the mysteries of Naples through a single painting thus seems to have resulted in a monumental success.
Technical Evaluation
Color is among the technical aspects of the paintings, used to reveal the mysteries of art and knowledge in Naples. There appears to be a cascading effect in the painting, presented with color. For example, the top of the painting has the brightest hues with blue combined with a form of pink. The bright blue is still evident that the center of the painting but the artist places are next to a duller collar. At the bottom of the painting, however, only dull colors are evident. The cascading mystery of the paint is manifested using lines. The bright colors create artistic emphasis that attracts the viewer to begin at the top. The lines engendered in the rounded figures of the woman gently push the viewer to keep going down gently, thus keep taking in the mysterious narrative one figure at the time. The rounded female figures also take a left to right kind of rhythmic movement so that the viewer will begin at the top, go left then down. The use of lines lessens the potential confusion that trying to look at the painting as a whole would create. When the viewer looks at the figures one at a time in succession, the mystery lessens making the painting into a lesson on, not an allegory of, knowledge and the arts in Naples.
It is evident from the totality of the above that the temerity of the artist in seeking to exhibited the mysteries of art and knowledge in Naples pays off handsomely in the painting Allegory of Knowledge and the Arts in Naples . The initial impression of the painting may seem like a jumbled mess of figures and figurines. However, the use of color to create emphasis guides the viewer on where to begin. Secondly, the use of lines to create a rhythm for the viewer to follow leads to a gradual understanding of the themes within the painting. The mysteries of knowledge and art in Naples are thus gradually but definitively revealed. The more a viewer looks at the painting, the more the allegory turns into a lesson.
