Читать книгу Art History For Dummies - Jesse Bryant Wilder - Страница 45

Symbolism is often a key part of visual narrative and even of portraits and still lifes. Understanding symbols helps you enter the world and situation of the painting. Without that understanding, you may miss much of an artist’s message. For example, consider these interpretations from many observers:

 The meandering road in Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (see Chapter 11) symbolizes the path of life, or as the Beatles called it, “The Long and Winding Road.”

 The skull in Frans Hals’s Young Man with a Skull obviously symbolizes death.

 The apple in Nicolas Poussin’s The Holy Family on the Steps (see Chapter 14) clearly suggests the Garden of Eden, even though there’s no sign of Adam and Eve or the serpent.