Abstract:
What does a single work of an artist reveal? What if this work is a piece of sixteenth century Italian art and now placed, or possibly displaced, into a New Zealand gallery? How does this work fit into this new environment, does it still tell a relevant story when the context has changed? In this dissertation I will seek to explore some of the issues implicit in one such painting, namely Leandro Bassano's Seasonal Allegory with Adam and Eve, in the Mackelvie Collection of the Auckland City Art Gallery. Created in a collaborative workshop environment, this one canvas holds a plurity of meanings both allegorical and biblical, acting as an example of the newly created biblical-pastoral genre. By examining the art historical context in which the work was painted and the genre created, along with some of the issues implicit in that, I hope to reveal its relevance, and enrich both the perception and understanding of this painting.
Description:
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