Allegory of Avarice 1567 - 1626

Editor: Here we have Jacopo Ligozzi's *Allegory of Avarice*, painted sometime between 1567 and 1626, and executed in oil. It has this slightly unsettling mood to it... what strikes you most about this piece? Curator: It's compelling how Ligozzi deploys oil paint, manipulating the pigment to highlight the social commentary on wealth accumulation. Note the rendering of the woman’s silken robe; the fabric is given more material weight than her actual physical presence. How does this disproportion inform your understanding? Editor: So, the attention to detail on the robe—more than the woman herself—highlights a societal focus on material wealth, not the individual's well-being. Curator: Precisely! Look, too, at the treasure chest overflowing with pearls contrasted against the figures fighting over meager possessions in the background. It is not merely about contrasting luxury and poverty but questioning the very labor systems that allow this imbalance to exist. It makes me wonder about Ligozzi’s own context. Was he questioning the Medici patronage that, no doubt, supplied the materials with which he constructed this critique? Editor: That's fascinating! Considering his patronage really shifts my understanding. Curator: These choices – in materials and the mode of depicting those materials – speak volumes about power dynamics and the uncomfortable realities underlying the artistic production of luxury items during this era. The ‘avarice’ isn’t simply greed, but the means and exploitation of making some things precious while debasing the lives of others. Editor: I never considered the artwork’s materiality in relation to the theme like that before. Thanks for that perspective! Curator: And thank you for prompting such insightful consideration! It reinforces how vital ongoing reassessment of both production and consumption are to art historical analysis.