Allegorie op kardinaal Pompeio Arrigoni c. 1576 - 1624

Francesco Villamena made this engraving titled 'Allegory on Cardinal Pompeio Arrigoni.' Made in Italy, sometime around the turn of the 17th century, the print uses classical figures to express ideas about power, virtue, and knowledge. Apollo, god of music and poetry, and Mercury, the messenger god, flank Atlas who strains under the weight of the world. Above him is an escutcheon, suggesting that Arrigoni's achievements in Rome are of global significance. This kind of visual language was very common, using allegory to celebrate the achievements of powerful people. What makes this print so interesting is that it reveals the social function of art at the time: to solidify reputations and promote the ideologies of powerful institutions like the Church. To understand this image better, one could examine the records of the Arrigoni family, publications from the Vatican, and books on emblemata. The meaning of art is always embedded in its social and institutional context.