Minerva With Chronos And History; A Study For An Allegory Of The Reign Of The Hapsburgs In Naples 

Francesco Solimena made this oil on canvas painting, entitled 'Minerva With Chronos And History; A Study For An Allegory Of The Reign Of The Hapsburgs In Naples', in the late 17th or early 18th century. The canvas presents an allegorical tableau centered around the Roman goddess Minerva, who was associated with wisdom and strategic warfare. Painted in Naples, the artwork is an explicit reference to the Hapsburg dynasty who ruled the Kingdom of Naples for two centuries. Minerva’s presentation here, accompanied by Chronos, the personification of time, and History, is an attempt to represent the dynasty’s reign as divinely ordained and historically significant. The specific visual codes – Minerva’s armor, Chronos's scythe – would have been easily read by the educated elite of Neapolitan society. Unpacking such works requires an understanding of the social conditions that shaped the production and reception of art in Naples at this time. Only then we can understand the public role that art played as a tool of political legitimation. Researching the history of the Kingdom of Naples and the patronage of the Hapsburgs can teach us a great deal about the history of art.