Allegory of the Old and New Dispensations 1700 - 1708

Carlo Maratti created this drawing of the Allegory of the Old and New Dispensations, where the key visual symbols are laden with historical weight. Here, you witness figures of the Old Testament overshadowed by an angel bearing the tablets of the New Law. Note the chalice, a direct reference to Christ's sacrifice. But let us not confine our gaze merely to its surface meaning. This symbol echoes through art history, from ancient fertility rites to its adoption as a central emblem of Christianity. The motif of the angel, a messenger from the divine, is ancient. Consider the Winged Victory of Samothrace; she too conveys a message, an embodiment of triumph, connecting the Hellenistic era to Maratti's Baroque period through shared gestures. The Old Testament figures display emotions reflecting a collective memory of the past. This interplay of divine promise and human emotion is a powerful, cyclical rhythm.