Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of “Allegory” Genre

258 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI NATALIIA KOROLOVA Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ORCID id: orcid.org/0000-0001-5014-5302 Field of research: Methodology of Teaching Classical Languages, Ancient Culture, Medieval Latin, New and Contemporary Latin. OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV Educational and Scientific Institute of Philology of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ORCID id: orcid.org/0000-0001-5281-5816 Field of research: Methodology of Teaching Classical Languages, Classical Languages, Ancient Greek and Latin Paroemiology, Ancient Culture. DOI: doi.org/10.35321/all86-11 LATIN INSCRIPTIONS ON FINE ART WORKS OF ALLEGORY GENRE Lotyniški įrašai alegorijos žanro vaizduojamojo meno kūriniuose ANNOTATION The article presents the analysis of the Latin inscriptions on paintings, frescoes and engravings of the allegory genre. The sources of borrowing, functional and semantic load, as well as graphic and linguistic features of Latin inscriptions have been studied. For accompanying inscriptions, artists used phrases from the works of ancient authors, from the Bible, from the works of contemporaries and original phrases, the authorship of which could not be established. Analysis of the linguistic and graphic features of Latin inscriptions on fine art works of allegory genre revealed a number of changes typical of the language practice of the time. The vast majority of them were caused by the processes that took place in late Latin, early medieval Latin and were partly attested by ancient grammars. The Straipsniai / Articles 259 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre inscriptions differ in the form of presentation (poetic and prose) and in the volume (from one word to detailed explanations), which depends on their functional load. KEYWORDS: allegory genre, Latin inscriptions, functional features, borrowing sources, language features, graphic features. ANOTACIJA Straipsnyje analizuojami alegorijos žanro paveiksluose, freskose ir raižiniuose naudojami lotyniški įrašai. Tiriami lotyniškų įrašų skolinimosi šaltiniai, funkcinis ir semantinis krūvis, grafiniai ir kalbiniai požymiai. Meno kūrinius papildančius įrašus sudaro frazės iš antikos autorių darbų, Biblijos, autorių gyvenamojo laikotarpio darbų, o taip pat originalios frazės, kurių autorystės nustatyti nepavyko. Alegorijos žanro vaizduojamojo meno kūriniuose panaudotų lotyniškų įrašų kalbinių ir grafinių požymių analizė atskleidė daug pokyčių, būdingų konkretaus laikotarpio kalbai. Daugumą pokyčių nulėmė procesai, vykę vėlyvojoje lotynų kalboje, ankstyvųjų viduramžių lotynų kalboje ir iš dalies paliudyti antikos laikų gramatikose. Įrašai skiriasi ir pateikimo forma (poezija ir proza), ir apimtimi (nuo vienažodžių iki detalių paaiškinimų), kuri priklauso nuo jų funkcinio krūvio. ESMINIAI ŽODŽIAI: alegorijos žanras, lotyniški įrašai, funkciniai požymiai, skolinimosi šaltiniai, kalbiniai požymiai, grafiniai požymiai. INTRODUCTION Allegory has come a long way of development and organically moved to various spheres of culture. The allegory genre is present in literature, music, sculpture as well as figurative art. The word ‘allegory’ comes from Greek ἀλληγορία (ἄλλος another + ἀγορεύω to speak). It is veiled, figurative language, one of the ways of the aesthetic development of reality, the reception of the images of objects and phenomena through the image, which is based on allegory. Most often, visual allegories depict abstract concepts, typical phenomena, characters, mythological characters – the bearers of a certain allegorical content assigned to them. Allegory can be a series of images connected by a single plot. The object of our research is Latin inscriptions on paintings, frescoes and engravings of the allegory genre. The subject of research is the sources of borrowing, functional and semantic load, as well as the graphic and linguistic features of Latin inscriptions. The purpose of the research is to introduce the Latin inscriptions from the works of art of the allegorical genre grouped by the thematic principle, analysis and description of the functional, linguistic, graphic features of the inscriptions NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 260 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI into linguistics. Achieving the goal involves the following tasks: 1) collecting data and creating the sample of the works of art of the allegory genre with Latin inscriptions; 2) identifying the functional and semantic features of inscriptions; 3) establishing the sources of inscriptions; 4) analysing their linguistic and graphic features. Latin inscriptions have been used in the works of fine art of various genres and trends (religious, mythological, portrait painting, works of the vanitas genre, etc.). The allegory genre is no exception: Latin inscriptions are quite common in frescoes, engravings and paintings of this genre, and the understanding of the image is sometimes impossible or wrong without a correct interpretation of these inscriptions. For modern viewers, the situation is further complicated by the fact that some monuments of this genre are preserved in poor condition. Unfortunately, incorrect reading and, consequently, interpretation of some inscriptions occurs not only on amateur art sites, but even in the official catalogues of reputable museums and galleries. It is the need for adequate interpretation, as well as the correct decipherment and explication of Latin inscriptions that determines the relevance of the study, especially given their lack of study, and the absence of a generalized work on the study of Latin inscriptions of the allegory genre on paintings, frescoes and engravings, their content, sources, language features, functional load, etc. The present study applied a new approach to the description of works of the allegorical genre in terms of the syncretism of visual art and its verbal embodiment. 1. METHODOLOGY The research was based on the fundamental scientific works on art history, as well as individual articles and monographs (Bailey 2012; Bayer 2009; Gombrich 2018; Hall 2018; Honour & Fleming 2005; Smith & Steinhoff 2012; Stokstad 2008; Syson 2007; Thuillier 2002). The current works on the allegory genre highlight the activities of individual schools of painting and the work of specific masters, but the main focus of researchers is on the non-verbal level of paintings (Bellanti 2006; Cheney 2017; Dessi 2007; Filippetti 2002; Frojmovič 1996; Jenkins 1972; Nordenfalk 1985; Pfeiffer 1975; Serebrennikov 1986; Tucker 2015; Veldman 1980, etc.). Despite the fact that the inscriptions analyzed in our study were mentioned in various publications, they did not become the subject of a special study. However, such an emphasis seems justified and useful, as often the inscriptions are an integral part of the work, and they explain the images or clarify their content. Straipsniai / Articles 261 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre The source of selection of the research data (namely paintings, engravings and frescoes of the allegory genre) was the reference publications and catalogues of large museum collections, which provide detailed factual information about the work of a master, online museum catalogues,1 as well as materials presented on the sites WikiArt, DeviantArt, GettyImages. To conduct the research, a representative sample of paintings, frescoes and engravings of the allegorical genre with Latin inscriptions was made, which allows us to draw certain conclusions and generalizations about the genre as a whole. The main selection criteria were thematic, chronological and geographical; therefore, the works of both sacred and secular themes of different periods and territorial affiliation were taken into consideration. The content completeness of the text, the degree of coherence (correlation of text and image), informativeness, size, etc. were also taken into account. Thus, 231 works of the allegorical genre created in the 14th–20th centuries were selected. Some allegories with Latin names devoid of inscriptions (Astrologia by Edward Burne-Jones; Iustitia by Maarten van Heemskerck; Prudentia and Sol Justitiae by Albrecht Dürer; Amor Imperator by Franz von Stuck; Melancholia by Lucas Cranach), and illustrations from manuscripts and old prints (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Apocalypse of Saint-Sever; The Septem Liberales Artes by Francis Cleyn, etc.) were used for comparative analysis. 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND: HISTORY OF THE FORMATION OF THE ALLEGORY GENRE Allegory begins its long journey in ancient Greek literature in the 6th century BC as an allegorical interpretation of poetry – Homer’s epic works (in particular, Theagenes of Rhegium and Pherecydes of Syros) (Domaradzki 2017: 303– 306). Allegoresis is a technique of interpretation that reveals the hidden (i.e. “allegorical”) content of a work. Greek philosopher Cleanthes (middle of the 3rd century BC) was the first to use the term ἀλληγορικῶς (Robins 2013: 28); Demetrius of Phaleron (approximately 355–283 BC) used the term ἀλληγορία: “νῦν δὲ ὥσπερ συγκαλύμματι τοῦ λόγου τῇ ἀλληγορίᾳ κέχρηται· πᾶν γάρ τὸ ὑπονοούμενον φοβερώτερον, καὶ ἄλλος εἰκάζει ἄλλο τι· ὃ δὲ σαφὲς, καὶ φανερόν, καταφρονεῖσθαι εἰκός, ὥσπερ 1 British Museum, Galleria Borghese, Louvre Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Prado Museum, State Hermitage Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, Uffizi Gallery, Vatican Museums, etc. NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 262 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI τοὺς ἀποδεδυμένους” (In the phrase actually used the speaker has shrouded his words, as it were, in allegory. Any darkly-hinting expression is more terror-striking, and its import is variously conjectured by different hearers. On the other hand, things that are clear and plain are apt to be despised, just like men when stripped of their garments) (Dem. Phal. Eloc. 2. 100). Heraclitus Grammaticus (1st century AD) in his treatise Quaestiones Homericae provides an explanation of allegory in the context of the interpretation of the image of gods: “ὁ γὰρ ἄλλα μὲν ἀγορεύων τρόπος, ἕτερα δὲ ὧν λέγει σημαίνων, ἐπωνύμως ἀλληγορία καλεῖται” (for the trope which says one thing but signifies something other than what it receives says the name “allegory” precisely from this) (Heraclit. QH 5.2). The allegorical interpretation of myths about the gods practiced by the Greeks became widespread in Rome. Aelius Donatus in Ars Grammatica gives the following definition of allegory: “Allegoria est tropus, quo aliud significatur quam dicitur” (Allegory is a figure that signifies something different from what it says) (Donat. Ars gram. 3. 6). A similar definition is found in Isidore of Seville (560–636): “Allegoria est alieniloquium. Aliud enim sonat, aliud intelligitur” (Allegory is otherspeech, for it occurs when one thing is said and another is understood) (Isid. Orig. 1.22) and in Marius Plotius Sacerdos (3rd century AD): “aliud significans quam continetur in verbis” (means other than what is contained in the words) (Sacerd. Ars gram. 1. 149–153). Despite the fact that allegory originated in literature and mythology, it was embodied in painting, sculpture and architecture. Allegory in painting and sculpture is a figure or group that depicts an abstract idea or an area of activity endowed with constant “eloquent” attributes (Krasnova 2002: 10–11). Allegory is a type of sign that establishes a connection between image and meaning by direct analogy and does not involve multifaceted layers of content that gradually unfold as in a symbol. Allegory in the fine arts is an artistic image with a subtext, an image with a hidden meaning, with which one can convey a variety of abstract concepts, ideas and values of life, express personal opinions or touch on forbidden topics through its “immense power to illustrate complex ideas and concepts in ways that are easily digestible and tangible to its viewers, readers, or listeners” (Art Terms, n.d.). The allegory genre in the fine arts originated in ancient times. Greek artists used personalized abstractions for internal processes, emotions and states, such as anger or envy, which they could not yet express through facial expressions and gestures. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, divine beings were endowed with some characteristic attribute or even replaced by allegory. Henceforth, not Straipsniai / Articles 263 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre only states and feelings were allegorized, but also state and political processes: freedom, power, justice, etc. During the Middle Ages, allegory served for moral and theological purposes. Figures representing virtues and vices were most often depicted during this period. In the fine arts of the Renaissance there is secularization in the depiction of moral allegories; they are filled with humanistic content. Personifications are demonstrated through intellectual qualities, sciences, aspects of the world, planets, etc., i.e. those images in which the allegorical key reveals the general ideas about the world and man’s place in it. In the art of the Baroque style, artists, based on ancient traditions, created works full of allegorical content, as if trying to draw parallels between the past and the future. By freely combining historical and mythological characters, pagan and Christian images in one visual space, the authors created new semantic connections, allusions, ideological subtext. Such compositions require an educated, intellectual spectator, but sometimes they are so confusing that they are accompanied by inscriptions, explanations, and even a separate programme presented in a literary, poetic form (Vlasov 2008: 242). In this regard, there was a whole doctrine of allegorical signs and images. In depicting abstract figures representing virtues, flaws, feelings, etc., the artists relied on such publications as Emblematum Liber by Andrea Alciato (1531) or Iconologia by Cesare Ripa (first edition 1593 et seq.). In addition, there were separate collections of proverbs on moral and ethical themes, which accompanied abstract images. Among the most significant collections are Adagia Collectanea (1500) and Adagiorum Chiliades (1508) by Erasmus of Rotterdam. The poems which were later included in Anthologia Latina2 were very popular inscriptions as well. Johann Joachim Winckelmann, the founder of the theory of Neoclassicism, who first explored the significance of allegory in the fine arts, divides allegories into two types: the sublime and the simpler. The paintings of the first category include those in which there is a hidden meaning from ancient myths or philosophy. The second category includes paintings with better known meanings, such as the personification of virtues and vices. Speaking about the fact that any allegory has something mysterious and accessible not to everyone, J. J. Winkelmann opposed the excessive fascination with it. He rebuked those who tried to make it more instructive by saying in the inscriptions what the 2 Anthologia Latina is a collection of ancient Latin poems of small volume published by German philologist Alexander Riese in 1869–1879. The most valuable part of Anthologia Latina is taken from the so-called Codex Salmasianus (8th century). In the Middle Ages, the lists of these poems were widely known and included in various collections. NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 264 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI paintings signified and what they did not signify, and called for learning from ancient artists who mostly clarified their paintings with such signs that were unique to one particular thing and no other (Winckelmann 1935: 163–170). Arthur Schopenhauer notes that “the allegorical picture [...] ? serves two purposes simultaneously: the expression of the concept and the expression of the idea. Only the latter can be a work of art; the other is someone else’s goal, playful fun – to force the picture to serve as an inscription at the same time” (Schopenhauer 2021: 232). Other works (Γιαγκάζογλου 2001; Katzenellenbogen 1939; Mertens 2015; Michel 1987; Spanily 2010; Vandendorpe 1999; 2005; Warncke 2005; Whitman 2000; Zlatar 1997, etc.) were also devoted to the peculiarities of allegory. 3. FUNCTIONAL AND SEMANTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF INSCRIPTIONS The allegory of artistic thinking permeates the art of all styles and directions, allegorical images are present in works of various genres – religious and mythological, still life, landscape, etc. They were aimed primarily at educated people who are able to recognize the secret content hidden in the images of people, animals, objects or attributes that accompany the main characters of the canvas. All the elements of the allegorical canvas were “words”. At the same time, the question of the inscriptions accompanying drawings and engravings requires close attention, because it is often with their help that the image which is difficult to comprehend based on its attributes is revealed. The inscriptions (so-called tituli) whose origins are associated with explanatory inscriptions on various objects of antiquity form a unity with the elements of an allegorical painting: they explain or comment on the image and help translate a visual picture into a verbal picture. As Vandendorpe points out, in particular, “the pleasure that these paintings should bring is born from the correspondence between the depicted attributes and the abstract concept marked by the inscription [...]. The allegory becomes clear only if, finding the key to reading the inscription above the picture, we then decipher the various symbols by linking them to metaphorical expressions borrowed from everyday language” (Vandendorpe 2005: 31–32). For example, the essence of the image depicting an ordinary girl with a mirror in her hand who sits on a stone bench in the autumn afternoon is revealed by the inscription MELANCHOLIA (Melancholia by Arnold Böcklin). In the miniature The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (pages 108v and 109r of Apocalypse of St. Sever), the rider who represents Death can only be identified by the inscription mors Straipsniai / Articles 265 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre above his head. Titian placed an inscription at the top of The Allegory of Age Governed by Prudence: EX PRAETERITO PRAESENS PRVDENTER AGIT, NI FVTVRVM ACTIONEM DETVRPET (From the experience of the past, the present acts prudently, lest it spoil future actions3), which is the key to deciphering the allegory of this canvas: advice to act prudently and cautiously, passing this experience on to their descendants. The object of the image in the paintings of the allegory genre included virtues and vices (89), sciences and art (68), as well as general ideas about the world and man’s place in it: intellectual qualities, feelings, seasons, etc. (74) (Fig. 1). These can be like cycles of paintings (e.g. The Four Monarchies by Еtienne Delaune; Series The Four Temperaments, Seasons and Planets by Maarten van Heemskerck), as well as individual images (Allegory of Transience by Jan van den Hoecke; Allegory of Celestial Love by Sodoma). Figure 1. Themes of Latin inscriptions on the works of art of the allegory genre (in %) Abstract characters most often depicted in the works of art of the allegorical genre include the figures representing virtues or vices (89). Hall notes that “the idea of personifying an abstract concept with the human (generally female) figure was taken up by the early Church from classical antiquity; the Church used it to teach a moral lesson by representing virtues and vices in conflict” (Hall 2018: 347). The cycle of seven principal Christian virtues (the three ‘theological virtues’, i.e. faith, hope and charity (I Cor. 13:13), and the four ‘cardinal virtues’, i.e. justice, prudence, fortitude and temperance), sometimes 3 The translations given here and below are taken from specialized websites and online catalogues of museums. NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 266 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI paired with appropriate vices, was widely represented in medieval sculpture and fresco. The images of virtues and vices were mostly accompanied by one-word tituli helping to identify the image: SPES, COGNICIO, PRVDENCIA, TEMPERANCIA, FIDES, IVSTICIA, CHARITAS, PACIENTIA, FORTITUDO, OBEDIENTIA, HUMILITAS, ARDOR, IMMUNDITIA, GULA, ACCIDIA, LUXURIA, SUPERBIA, IRA, INVIDIA, AVARICIA, etc. (e.g. St. Francis Cycle by Giotto; Cognition and the Seven Virtues by Hans Sebald Beham; The Seven Virtues by Francesco Pesellino; The Virtues and Vices by Heinrich Aldegrever; The Seven Christian Virtues by Master IB; The Seven Virtues by Lucas van Leyden; The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things by Hieronymus Bosch). Sometimes artists diversified tituli with epithets: FIDES RECTA, CARITAS CONSVMMATA (Allegory of Faith, Allegory of Charity by Pietro di Francesco degli Orioli). The practice of extensive comments was also widespread. They often simply accompanied allegorical figures and had no direct connection with the figurative structure of drawings, e.g. The Vices and the Virtues by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. On the other hand, Giotto traces the correspondence between the image and the inscription. Allegories of Seven Virtues and Vices in Scrovegni Chapel have short tituli and extensive commentaries that illustrate the image with a focus on the characteristics and actions of the allegories presented. In Allegory of Old and New Testament by Garofalo there is a large number of inscriptions of various volumes, mostly nominative and informative: PARADISVS, ECCLESIA CRISTI, INITIAT, PVRGAT, PERFICIT, SINAGOGA, TEMPLVM SALOMONIS, INFERNVS, etc. The interpretation of the Bible presented in An Allegory of the Old and New Testaments by Hans Holbein the Younger also contains a large number of inscriptions of similar content, in particular: GRATIA, LEX, PECCATVM, MORS, MYSTERIVM IVSTIFICATIONIS, ESAYAS PROPHETA, HOMO, IOANNES BAPTISTA, AGNVS DEI, IVSTIFICATIO NOSTRA, VICTORIA NOSTRA. Allegory of Celestial Love by Sodoma can be interpreted as heavenly love that surpasses the earthly one. In the image a woman pours water from a jug into the fire on the altar with the inscription STINSI TERENAS (I extinguished the earth). Behind it we see tabula ansata with the inscription CELESTES (Heavenly). We will also give examples of the allegories related to secular themes. The image of virtues and vices is also important here (15). The Hall of the Nine Palazzo Pubblico in Siena is decorated with the frescoes The Allegory of Good and Bad Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Bad Government is Straipsniai / Articles 273 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre The ending of a word may be shortened: DIVINA℞ RE℞ (DIVINARVM RERVM) in Theology by Raphael in Stanza della Segnatura. There is a contraction “sonant + consonant”, which is also marked by linea nasalis above the previous vowel: PRVDẼTER (PRVDENTER) in The Allegory of Age Governed by Prudence by Titian; MṼDI (MVNDI) in Allegory of the Old and New Testaments by Hans Holbein the Younger; VIVAT (VIVANT) in The Vices and the Virtues by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, ĨMŨDITIA (IMMUNDITIA) in Cycle of Frescoes of the Life of Saint Francis by Giotto. It is traditional to reduce the postpositive conjunction -que: CAETERAꝖ (CAETERAQUE), PENEꝖ (PENEQVE) in The Vices and the Virtues by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Abbreviation of nomina sacra: DN (dominus) in The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things by Hieronymus Bosch and  (sancta) in Cycle of Frescoes of the Life of Saint Francis by Giotto. The inscription INІUSTITIA in Allegories of Seven Virtues and Vices by Giotto has a different graphic of the letters T. 5. SOURCES OF BORROWING LATIN QUOTATIONS The bulk of the tituli consists of short titles that contain an indication of the object in the image. Larger inscriptions can be divided into three groups that correlate with the theme of the paintings: quotes from ancient sources and early medieval authors; quotes from the works of contemporaries; religious works (Bible). It should be noted that the authors of paintings are quite free to handle quotations by changing and composing them according to specific needs or artistic intent. 5.1. Quotations from ancient sources Among the analyzed Latin inscriptions used in the works of art of the allegory genre, a significant part is comprised of quotes from classical authors. The cycle of engravings The Vices and the Virtues by Pieter Bruegel the Elder is indicative. The title of the work Inscription and translation Source AVARITIA QVIS METVS, AVT PVDOR EST VNQVAM PROPERANTIS AVARI? Which fear or which awe is ever found in one who is hastily greedy? Juven. XIV.177–178 NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 274 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI The title of the work Inscription and translation Source IRA ORA TVMENT IRA, NIGRESCVNT SANGVINE VENAE Anger makes the face swell up, and the veins grow black with blood Ov. Ars 3. 503–504 IVSTICIA SCOPVS LEGIS EST, AVT VT EVM QVEM PVNIT EMENDET, AVT POENA / EIVS CAETEROS MELIORES REDDET AVT SVBLATIS MALIS CAETERI SECVRIORES VIVANT The purpose of law is either to correct those who it punishes or, through punishment, improve the rest of them; or, following the removal of the culprit, that the remaining people can live more securely Sen. Cl. 1.22.1 FORTITVDO ANIMVM VINCERE, IRACVNDIAM COHIBERE CAETERAQVE VITIA ET AFFECTVS / COHIBERE VERA FORTITVDO EST To conquer one’s impulses, to restrain anger and the other vices and emotion: this is the true fortitude Cic. Marc. 3.8 The next two virtues include modified quotations from the Epitome of the late antique author Lactantius. The title of the work Inscription and translation Source CHARITAS SPERES TIBI ACCIDERE QVOD ALTERI ACCIDIT, ITA DEMVM EXCITABERIS AD OPEM FERENDAM SI SVMPSERIS EIVS ANIMVM QVI OPEM TVNC IN MALIS CONSTITVTVS IMPLORAT Assume that what happens to others shall also happen to you. You will thus only be roused to provide help when you feel empathy for the state of the soul of he who begs for help in his time of need Lact. Epit. 65 FIDES FIDES MAXIME A NOBIS CONSERVANDA EST PRAECIPVE IN RELIGIONEM, QVIA DEVS PRIOR ET POTENTIOR EST QVAM HOMO Above all we must keep faith, particulary in respect to religion, for God comes before all, and is mightier than man Lact. Epit. 66 The quotation on the engraving PRVDENTIA belongs to one of the most prominent church figures of the Early Middle Ages Martin of Braga: SI PRVDENS ESSE CVPIS, IN FVTVRVM PROSPECTVM OSTENDE, ET Straipsniai / Articles 275 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre QVAE POSSVNT CONTINGERE, ANIMO TVO CVNCTA PROPONE (If you wish to be prudent, bear in mind the future and imagine everything that could possibly happen) (PL 72: 24).9 The frescoes Political Virtues by Domenico Beccafumi are decorated with quotations from the works of Seneca, Cicero, Sallust. The title of the work Inscription and translation Source CONCORDIA MVTVA BENIVOLENTIA NV(M)Q(VAM) DEBET SENESCERE RVMORES MITIGAT Mutual friendliness should never grow old [to] hold back rumors10 Cic. Amic. 22 Sen. Ben. 1.3 CARITAS IDEM VELLE IDEM NOLLE wanting the same things, rejecting the same things Sal. Cat. 10 The text placed at the top right of Allegory of Transience by Jan van den Hoecke NOSCE TE IPSVM (Know thyself) is a famous aphorism, a Latin translation of the Greek phrase ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΕΑΥΤΟΝ written at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. The allegories by Raphael in Stanza della Segnatura are directly related to the accompanying inscriptions. The title of the work Inscription and translation Source Justice IVS SVVM VNICVIQVE TRIBVIT Justice gives to each his own CIC 1, Dig. 1.10 Theology DIVINARVM RERVM NOTITIA Knowledge of divine things CIC 1, Inst. 1.1.1 Philosophy CAVSARVM COGNITIO Know the Causes Cic. Top. 18.67 Poetry NVMINE AFFLATVR Inspired by the Divine Verg. A. 6.49–51 In the lower part of the frame of the engraving Aestas by Pieter Bruegel the Elder in the center we read: AESTAS, adolescentiae imago (Summer, image of youth), which briefly connects the change of seasons with human age. The 9 The quote is often mistakenly attributed to Seneca. The work Formula Honestae Vitae was written in imitation of the Seneca style and was considered the work of this ancient Roman philosopher almost throughout the Middle Ages: in the 12th century, as a result of the accident, the preface about Martin’s authorship was lost. 10 Captions are usually combined into one expression; see, for example, Jenkins 1972. NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 276 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI inscription on the left: Iulius, Augustus, nec non et Iunius Aestas (July, August and also June make summer) is an excerpt from the eclogue of Ausonius De Mensibus et Quattuor Anni Temporibus (Aus. Ecl. 1318). The inscription on the right (Frugiferas arvis fert Aestas torrida messeis Hot summer brings fertile crops to the fields) is an abbreviated quote from the tetrastich about the four seasons of Julian (AL 571). Works of contemporaries were also popular. The inscription on the engraving SPES by Pieter Bruegel the Elder IVCVNDISSIMA EST SPEI PERSVASIO ET VITАE IMPRIMIS, NECESSARIA INTER TOT AERVMNAS PENEQVE INTOLERABILЕS (Sweet is the trust that springs from hope, without which we could not endure life’s many and almost unbearable adversities) is a modified quotation from the Spanish humanist J. L. Vives (Vives 1538: 250). Allegories of individual defects from the cycle The Vices and the Virtues by Pieter Bruegel the Elder contain quotations from the work Zodiacus Vitae by the Italian physician, poet and philosopher Pier Angelo Manzolli or Marcello Stellato, or Marcellus Palingenius Stellatus in Latin. Interestingly, after his death in 1551, he was declared a heretic, the Catholic Church burned his bones and Pope Paul IV placed his book Zodiacus Vitae in the first Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Prohibited Books) in 1559. Despite a ban by the Inquisition, the poem was translated into several European languages and has survived numerous reprints outside Italy. The title of the work Inscription and translation Source SVPERBIA NEMO SVPERBVS AMAT SVPEROS, NEC AMATVR AB ILLIS Nobody who is proud loves the god above, nor is he loved by them PZV 9: 901 LVXVRIA LVXVRIA ENERVAT VIRES, EFFOEMINAT ARTVS Lust robs your strength and weakens your limbs PZV 4: 315 DESIDIA SEGNITIES ROBVR FRANGIT LONGA OCIA NERVOS Sluggishness breaks strength, long idleness (breaks) the nerves PZV 10: 139–140 GULA EBRIETAS EST VITANDA, INGLVVIESQVE CIBORVM Avoid drunkenness and gluttony PZV 10: 133 INVIDIA INVIDIA HORRENDVM MONSTRVM, SAEVISSIMA PESTIS Envy is a monster to be feared, and a most severe plague PZV 4: 414 Straipsniai / Articles 277 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre The inscription on the engraving AVDITVS from the series of engravings The Five Senses by Georg Pencz is often read as TRVXA PER AVDITV11 (instead of TRVX APER AVDITV), which is incorrect for several reasons: the form TRVXA of the Latin adjective trux is impossible according to the norms of the Latin grammar; the preposition per should be used with accusative. In addition, all the inscriptions from this series of engravings make up one phrase: TRVX APER AVDITV (AVDITVS), LINX VISV (VISVS), MILVVS ODORE (OLFATVS), SIMIA NOS SVPERAT GVSTV (GVSTVS), SED ARANEA TACTV (TACTVS) (Boar surpasses us by hearing, lynx by sight, kite by smell, monkey by taste, and spider by touch). It first appears in medieval writer Thomas of Cantimpré (Cantimpratensis 1973: 106) in the following form: Nos aper auditu, lynx visu, simia gustu, Vultur odoratu praecellit, aranea tactu. The original phrase is about a wild boar and it is his image that we see in the engraving. We assume that the incorrect division of the phrase into elements occurs due to scriptura continua. 5.2. Quotations from the Bible Allegorical religious works contain quotations from the Bible.12 The title of the work Inscription and translation Source The Child and Death by Hans Holbein the Younger Homo natus de muliere brevi vivens tempore repletur multis miseriis. Qui quasi flos egreditur et conteritur et fugit velut umbra Man born of woman, living a short time, is replenished with many miseries. Who as a flower cometh forth and is destroyed, and flyeth as a shadow Job 14: 1 (BSV) Alegoría de la salvación by Juan de Valdés Leal QVAM REPROMISIT DEVS Which the Lord promised Jacob 1: 12 (BSV) JUSTIСIA in Political Virtues by Domenico Beccafumi PER ME REGES REGNANT By me kings reign Proverb 8: 15 (BSV) 11 E.g., https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl020576776, https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/ en/collection/RP-P-OB-11.059. 12 The translations given here and below are taken from the Biblia Sacra Vulgata website (BSV). NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 278 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI The title of the work Inscription and translation Source The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things by Hieronymus Bosch Gens absque consilio est et sine prudentia For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them Utinam saperent et intelligerent ac novissima providerent O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! Deuter. 32.28–29 (BSV) Abscondam faciem meam ab eis et considerabo novissima eorum I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be Deuter. 32.20 (BSV) Justice in The Allegory of Good Government by Ambrogio Lorenzetti DILIGITE IVSTITIAM QVI IVDICATIS TERRAM Love justice, you that are the judges of the earth Wisdom 1 (BSV) Allegory of Death by Juan de Valdés Leal IN ICTV OCVLI Twinkling of an Eye I Cor. 15: 52 (BSV) Allegory of the Old and New Testaments by Hans Holbein the Younger ECCE VIRGO CONCIPIET ET PARIET FILIVM Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son Isaiah 7: 14 (BSV) MISER EGO HOMO, QVIS ME ERIPIET EX HOC CORPORE MORTI OBNOXIO Wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body subject to death Romans, 7: 24–25 (BSV) ECCE AGNVS ILLE DEI QVI TOLLIT PECCATVM MVNDI Behold the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world John 1: 29 (BSV) Straipsniai / Articles 279 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre The title of the work Inscription and translation Source Allegory of Old and New Testament by Garofalo QVIA NON COGNOVIT MONDVS PER SAPIENTIAM / DEVM PLACVIT DEO PER STVLTITIAM PREDICATIONIS SALVOS FACERE CREDENTES For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe 1 Cor. 1: 20 (BSV) НEС EST VIA ANBVLATE PER EAN This is the way! Walk in it! Isaiah 30: 21 (BSV) VENI COLUNBA MEA INFORAMINIBVS PETRЕ. CORON(A)BERIS DE CAPITE AMANA DE VERTICE SANIR ET HERMON. VVLNARASTI COR МЕVM SOROR MEA O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock… Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon… Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister Song of Solomon 2: 14; 4: 8–9 (BSV) NON OFFERRATIS VLTRA SACRIFICIV FRVSTRA INCENSVM ABOMINATIO EST MIHI ORATIONES VESTRAS NON EXAVDIAM MANVS ENIM VESTRE SANGVINE PLENE SVNT Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me... yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood Isaiah 1: 13, 15 (BSV) NON INTRABVNT NISI QVI SCRIPTI SVNT IN LIBRO VITE AGNI And there shall in no wise enter into it…but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life Revelation (Apocalyps) 21: 27 (BSV) FACTVS EST DOMINVS QVASI INIMICVS: PRECIPITAVIT ISRAEL TRE. Z. The Lord is become as an enemy, he hath swallowed up Israel Lament. 2: 5 (BSV) NATALIIA KOROLOVA, OLESIA LAZER-PANKIV 280 Acta Linguistica Lithuanica LXXXVI 6. CONCLUSIONS Thus, based on the analysis of Latin inscriptions used in the works of the allegory genre, we can draw the following conclusions and generalizations. The objects depicted in allegorical works are mostly virtues and vices; sciences and art; nature and the universe; man (feelings, abilities, etc.); abstract concepts. A large number of allegorical images are incomprehensible to the modern viewer, because their perception depends on the general level of the previously acquired knowledge and familiarity with the historical context. The use of Latin inscriptions as an integral part of frescoes, paintings and engravings of allegorical content was due to the peculiarities of the origin, formation and development of this genre. Accompanying inscriptions sometimes carry the main semantic load, and therefore their understanding is extremely important for grasping the meaning that the author laid in the work. Without a clarifying name or a Latin inscription, they may well remain a mystery. Many inscriptions have a poetic form (mostly hexameter or elegiac) (e.g. Allegories of Seven Virtues and Vices by Giotto, The Ass at School by Pieter Bruegel the Elder). These could be excerpts from the poems of Roman poets (Juvenal, Ovid, etc.), works of contemporaries (e.g. Pier Angelo Manzolli) or unknown authors. The inscriptions differ not only in the form of presentation but also in the volume (from one word to detailed explanations), which depends on their functional load. One-word titles-tituli identify the object of the image and perform a nominative and informative function, clarifying details and providing additional information. Short expressions that comment on the image and help us to understand its essence perform an explicative function. Some extensive quotations and explanations have an additional didactic and moralizing load. The verbal part is not always identical to the drawings, but close to them in ideological content, which suggests the presence of the function of coherence. We should not forget the fact that those who were involved in the inscribing process were also involved in the selection of texts and conveyed their understanding of the image. It is known that large workshops (e.g. Hieronymus Cock’s workshop) could entrust the selection of inscriptions to a team of specialists. For accompanying inscriptions, artists used quotations from a variety of sources. These are mostly phrases from the works of ancient authors and the Bible, which is obviously due to the orientation of society to the relevant models and their recognizability to the audience at the time. There are also quotations from the works of contemporaries and original phrases, the authorship of which could not be established. Straipsniai / Articles 281 Latin Inscriptions on Fine Art Works of Allegory Genre The vast majority of inscriptions are made with capital letters. Such graphic phenomena as diacritical marks and ligatures are present in both lowercase and uppercase letters. Often the font is stylized in order to create a single compositional ensemble. The existing errors can be often explained by the instability of spelling norms not only of late and medieval Latin, but also classical: some errors, which occur in Latin inscriptions on the works of the allegory genre, were attested by ancient grammars. At the same time, there are errors that can be explained by the influence of the author’s native language and imperfect knowledge of Latin by some artists and engravers. ABBREVIATIONS AL – Anthologia Latina, Lipsiae: B. G. Teubneri, 1869–1926. 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