A Summary - Shade and Light

The clear concept of allegory had to wait to the nineteenth century but its usage goes back at least to the Gospels. In an allegory everything means something else.

Moving from left to right, the first column represents the teaching of the Pope; the darkness represents the mystery of God; the clear light means man’s capacity to apprehend truth; the red brick wall represents man’s destructive capacity, and the last column represents clearly apprehended truth. The great decorated column represents the pillar of truth and the grey bridge from that column to the column of clearly apprehended truth represents the working world of theology whereby one truth is related to another. The clear light represents the light of intellect meeting proportionate being, and the shaded light represents the light of intellect meeting mystery. The chips indicate the passage of time. The laces around the lady’s neck may indicate embryonic or future man, the gold button royalty and so power, and the dented clock may indicate of truth-shaped time. The floor pattern combines with the laces to echo Leonardo’s geometric picture of man.

The question occurs, may the lady in black not be an historical figure at all. Might she simply be an allegory of truth?

The background of the picture is full of full daylight, which I am assuming represents the light intellect and what it can attain. I see the far right column as representing this attainment, but I have just noticed that it has a shadow side which turns away, as it were, from the pillar of truth. So the pillar of truth is confronted, as it were, by the best of rational attainment.

Meantime, the pillar of truth falls into near blackness as it faces the pillar of rational attainment. This contrast accentuates the problem facing Christendom. I do not know whether this is just a happy accident or whether intended by the artist. It does, though, remind me of dear Pio Nono, a nineteenth century Pope who said “L’Eglise – c’est moi”. There is a lovableness here for those on his side but a decided darkness, an incapacity to communicate for anyone who is not in communication.

The bridge builders have a deal of work to do!