What hidden meanings are concealed by images in paintings by famous artists: the ABC of painting (part 2)
What hidden meanings are concealed by images in paintings by famous artists: the ABC of painting (part 2)

Video: What hidden meanings are concealed by images in paintings by famous artists: the ABC of painting (part 2)

Video: What hidden meanings are concealed by images in paintings by famous artists: the ABC of painting (part 2)
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From an apple in the hand of the baby Jesus to a bird indifferent to a cat … Food, drinks, home furnishings have appeared in countless contexts of European painting for many centuries and are the favorite method of artists to convey hidden meanings.

All these elements are depicted on almost all samples of fine art from different peoples of the world and different cultures, which is dictated by mythology and association. And, subsequently, they began to have their own allegorical meaning. It is important to note that the alphabet presented below for the meanings of the elements of the pictures is conditional and serves as a universal system of symbols. Their true interpretation depends on the context and subject matter of the picture.

Quince - since ancient times, the sacred fruit and attribute of Venus, the emblem of marriage and fertility. According to Pliny, a cut from a quince tree could give birth to another tree, which adds another meaning to this fruit - immortality. A pineapple - a symbol of royalty and wealth (these exotic fruits were imported across the oceans for the upper class). Artichokes is a vegetable rich in symbolism. Artichokes have a delicate core that is protected by multiple layers of leaves - wonderful characteristics that can be interpreted in many ways! The most common meanings are hope, peace and prosperity. White iris - a symbol of purity. Bottle - a symbol of the sin of drunkenness. Papers (dilapidated) - the vanity of knowledge. Villas - a richly symbolic subject. The three-pointed spear can be seen as a symbol of hard work and hard work. In Greek mythology, it is called a trident (symbol of the powerful Poseidon, the god of the sea). In Christianity, the pitchfork has come to be associated with the devil and evil activities.

Jan Davids de Hem "Luxurious still life with a parrot"
Jan Davids de Hem "Luxurious still life with a parrot"

Grape - an attribute of Bacchus, the god of wine. Extinguishing smoking candle (stub) or oil lamp, a cap for extinguishing candles - a burning candle is a symbol of the human soul, its extinction symbolizes leaving. Carnation - a symbol of ascension to heaven. Rotten fruit Is a symbol of aging. Garnet (fruit) - a symbol of resurrection and eternal life in Christian art. In medieval representations, the pomegranate tree, a symbol of fertility, is associated with the end of the hunting season. Ancient Greek mythology viewed this fruit as a symbol of life and rebirth. The grains of the fruit or the cut fruit are a symbol of the fullness of the suffering and resurrection of Jesus. Walnut, according to St. Augustine - a symbol of Christ himself. According to this interpretation, the nut signifies flesh, the shell signifies ascension, and the core signifies the divine nature of Jesus. Melon - historically associated with luxury, wealth, creativity. For the Chinese, the meaning of melon is different - it is a symbol of family unity. Tangled skein - the web into which the hero of the picture fell, his plight. Hare - meant vigilance. Star - a sign of spiritual revelation.

Cereals (corn and wheat) are metaphors of virtue and vice. Ripe fruits symbolize fertility and abundance (complement the vanitas theme). Fig - the fruit of which has a lot of seeds - a symbol of abundance. Still lifes of the XVI-XVIII centuries were so popular with private customers precisely because of the demonstration of the abundance and luxury of the owner. Show your status and your position in society is a very popular trend these years. Iris Is an attribute of courage, valor, dignity. Cabbage - is a symbol of everyday life, sometimes dirty and frankly disgusting. Cabbage was a favorite fruit of the leading abstract artist Jean Elion, who praised its everyday life. Centaur - a symbol of base passions, in religious compositions - a symbol of heresy. Bell - a warning Cat playing with a bird - symbolizes the plight of the hero, failure. Cat attacking a mouse - warns against the dangers of romance. Smoking pipe - a symbol of fleeting and elusive earthly pleasures. A ray of light - redemption, enlightenment, hope. Lute Is an archaic instrument made famous at the beginning of the 16th century. The Cracked Lute was a metaphor for love that fails (a reference to Tennyson's Royal Idylls: “That little crack in the lute will soon stop the music”). Baby - a symbol of the human soul. Notes - the brevity and ephemeral nature of life Olive branch - a symbol of peace. Fallen petals - meant the ephemerality of youth and beauty. Palette with brushes, laurel wreath - symbols of painting and poetry. Glove (one) - a warning that you can be alone, to be abandoned. Candlestick - a symbol of salvation and light. The seven-arm candlestick, often called the menorah, is used by Christians to represent the Holy Spirit and its seven gifts: wisdom, intelligence, discernment, firmness, knowledge, piety, and fear.

Franciscus Geisbrechts, XVII century
Franciscus Geisbrechts, XVII century

Sunflower - the love of God, and sometimes earthly love. Staff - reminds that Jesus is a shepherd. And also about the shepherds who came to worship the baby Jesus. Bird nest is a reference to the biblical text: "And the bird finds itself a place to live, and the swallow finds a nest for itself, where to put its chicks." Rainbow (meeting of Heaven with Earth) is a symbol of God's reconciliation with people, forgiveness of human sins. Crucifixion of Christ - a clear symbol that faith in Jesus Christ helps us to avoid death and gain eternal salvation. Fishing - Conversion (for Christian reasons). Light - a symbol of spiritual insight, divine grace. Dragonfly - in the Middle Ages, dragonflies were classified as ordinary flies, and their image carried a negative meaning - they personified the devilish principle. Symbols of the suffering of Christ - a page from Scripture, washed nails and a crown of thorns in a basin of water. Blue (the color of the sky) is a symbol of everything spiritual, the shape of a circle, reminiscent of the sun and the moon, is a symbol of the divine. Violin - the vice of pleasure or disappearing music. Owl - a nocturnal bird, therefore one of its symbolic meanings is sleep, death. Weaving symbolizes the creation of the world, the universe, the determination of the fate of all things Daffodil flower - a symbol of death. Flowers-marigolds - grief. Watch (closed by something) - speaks of irretrievably and uselessly leaked time Worms are symbols of decay and destruction. Number 7 - a symbol of perfection and completeness (seven days in each phase of the moon, seven colors of the rainbow, seven notes, seven days of the week, seven virtues, seven deadly sins, seven sacraments). Goldfinch symbolizes passion as well as the human soul.

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