Allegory Of Religion - France - 17th Century

This marble bas-relief representing an Allegory of the Christian Religion presents the characteristics of the style of the French School of the 17th century. We observe a woman, whose top of her head is covered by a veil letting her wavy hair escape. His face is rendered in the antique style by his aquiline nose, his wide eyes without pupils, his slightly parted mouth and his sculpted chin. Although its body faces us, its head is turned to its right, but its neck remains straight. The figure wears a thin garment, clinging to her body, revealing her navel and round breasts, which nevertheless ends in heavy, dense folds. Seeming almost seated, the figure moves its left leg, which it bends, in order to place its foot on a mound. His right leg, too, bends in a lighter gesture moving towards the right. His right foot extends beyond the frame of the bas-relief, symbol of the refinement demonstrated by the artist. The character's left arm twists in a serpentine and impossible movement, to support a long, straight cross. His right arm is raised, folded, and his hand holds two keys, linked by a strap, on which is placed a bird, possibly a dove, whose feathers are sculpted. Although the symbolism of the work is obvious, it remains complex to identify precisely. The attributes worn by the female figure (the cross, the two keys and the bird) are polysemous and are found in many allegories, however, it is quite rare to represent them together. The cross is that of the Crucifixion of Christ. It constitutes an important symbol of the Church and Christianity. We then find it represented in scenes linked to the Passion of Christ, but also in allegories relating to the Church, Religion or even Faith. The two keys are those given by Christ to Saint Peter in the Gospel according to Matthew (16:19) where Jesus declares: “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ". Two keys are then given: one in gold (celestial), the other in silver (terrestrial). The dove embodies the Holy Spirit. Present in several passages of the Bible, the dove is a symbol of hope and fidelity when it is sent by Noah to warn of the end of the Flood (Genesis, chapter 8). In the New Testament, the dove is used to represent the Holy Spirit, present at the time of Jesus' baptism: “he saw the heavens being torn apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. There was a voice from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I find my joy.'” (Gospel of Mark, 1, 10-11). Symbol of Christianity, the dove as a manifest form of the Holy Spirit, is a messenger of divine love. Thus, the three attributes present in this bas-relief are known symbols of Christianity. Religious representations, encouraged by the Council of Trent, took on a didactic, instructive and intellectual scope from the second half of the 16th century, supposed to encourage the devotion of the faithful. Thus, certain religious works from this period accentuate the emotion surrounding the martyrs of the Saints and the Passion of Christ, while others respond to an intellectual and doctrinaire current. The Allegory presented here can be linked to this second current, a consequence of the Council of Trent which will have repercussions in the arts until the 17th century. It is possible to compare our work to certain bas-reliefs from the French school of the 17th century. This bas relief by François Girardon representing an Allegorical Figure, called "Melancholy", presents some similarities with our work: the attitude of the figure, the drape of the dress, the foot which protrudes from the frame of the sculpture, the raised hand . Or in this bas-relief of an Allegory of Faith, attributed to Louis Le Conte and preserved at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, where we find the foot which protrudes from the frame, the fine drapery which allows a glimpse of the navel of the figure, the right cross. And finally, in this bas-relief by Jean Hardy, representing Religion overcoming Heresy, made in 1688, preserved at the Louvre Museum.