Flaming June sings to us with radiant color and elemental symbols. Many see this painting as simple. It’s a beautiful woman in a glorious dress. They’re not wrong. But as with most masterpieces, more levels of meaning resonate here.
Allegories bring big ideas down to earth. Simon Vouet’s allegory of Wealth painting gives a grand example of this at work. Baroque painters, such as Vouet, reveled in allegory. They swam in it, like Scrooge McDuck with his pool of gold coins.
The Flea by Guiseppe Crespi tells a story without revealing the main character. We only see the reaction to the flea, not the pest itself. This intimate portrait from 18th century Italy depicts virtue.