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Allegory of Grammar
(Baroque Europe )
As in the companion "Allegory of Arithmetic" (Walters 37.1917), this personification of the liberal art of Grammar is engaged in an activity to show how ideas impact real life. To demonstrate how important grammar and clear writing are in making ideas "bloom," the artist metaphorically represents Grammar watering two pots of flowers. Over her arm is a scroll bearing an ancient definition of grammar in Latin: "A literate tongue, spoken in the required manner."
By the inscription, L. DE LA Hyre In. & F. 1650-"In." is an abbreviation for invenit (Latin for invented) and "F." for fecit (made it)-the artist emphasized his responsibility for the conception as well as the execution of the paintings.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
40 5/8 x 44 1/4 in. (103.2 x 112.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.862