# Allegory **Pietro degli Ingannati** (Italian) c. 1515-1525 oil on panel overall: 43 x 39.2 cm (16 15/16 x 15 7/16 in.) framed: 63.5 x 59.1 x 6.4 cm (25 x 23 1/4 x 2 1/2 in.) Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948.17.1. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.35082.html). ## About this work A sleeping nude woman lies on a rose-pink cloth while a satyr reaches towards her and another, holding a jug, glances back over his shoulder. On the other side of a broken tree stump a child bends to draw on the ground with a pair of compasses, beside a violin and loose sheets of paper; a striped shield leans against the stump, and in the distance a town seems to burn. The allegory’s exact meaning is open to interpretation, but it sets desire against the arts and learning in a manner typical of Venetian painting in the early 1500s. _Written by Ochre Editions._ Pietro degli Ingannati painted this in about 1515-1525. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. ### What you’re looking at A nude woman, pudgy child, and two satyrs, which have men’s heads and torsos with goat’s legs and horns, are in a landscape in this octagonal painting. The scene is divided in half by a tree stump which only reaches to the center of the composition. To the left of the stump, the pale-skinned, nude child stands and hunches over to draw on the ground with a V-shaped compass. Two pieces of paper and a violin lie nearby. The landscape behind him has a body of water leading back to a town with buildings streaked with peach, perhaps flames. A band of peach sky separates the blue silhouettes of mountains lining the horizon from the vivid blue sky above. At the bottom center of the painting, a shield with an oval horizontally striped with red and white leans on the boy’s side of the tree, which has one leafy branch growing on the left side. One satyr holds a jug and kneels close to the tree with his back to it as he looks back over one shoulder. He and the other satyr both have dark, peach-toned skin and full beards. The second satyr hovers to the right of the nude, sleeping woman, both hands reaching for her or the rose-pink cloth surrounding her. The woman has blond curls, a round face, and she sleeps with one hand resting across her belly and her head tipped to our left. The trio are on a grassy area enclosed by dense, dark-green bushes and trees. _Description from the National Gallery of Art._ ### How it was made - **Oil on panel.** Oil paint on prepared wooden boards, usually oak in the north and poplar in Italy. The rigid, smooth surface suits fine detail and thin, glowing glazes. - **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled. ### [Pietro degli Ingannati](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/pietro-degli-ingannati) Italian ## Facts - Type: Painting - Real size: about 17 × 15 in (43 × 39 cm). The 12 × 16 in print is close to life size. - Century: 16th century - Subjects: emotion, Love - Colour: brown - Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose. ## Get it - Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1492.jpg?dl=1 - Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1492/1920.jpg - Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108 - Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258 - Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178 - Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5 Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/allegory-nga-35082).