Jan Brueghel the Younger and Hendrik van Balen’s joint work “The Allegory of Earth” is a mythological-based portrayal of the bounty and the vastness of the earth and how it is the only element which all kinds of figures take part of. The earth relies on the gods and the creatures of the earth to provide the bounty for them to thrive, but they must work the land and give partly to the Gods to have a harmonious and bounteous earth; however, the element of earth is what freely and willingly allows that cycle to occur. “The Allegory of Earth” is not meant to be an allegory of the planet earth and the people and their interactions with the Gods, but instead it is to show, through figures and symbolism, the element of earth. This interpretation is founded on the figures, colors, and composition used by Brueghel and Balen to portray the element of earth.
By understanding the details of the separate physical section of the piece independently in the context of the
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There are two nymph-like creatures, in the most vibrant colors in the painting, in a reddish-pink. One of these nymphs is picking up flowers and handing them to the human woman dressed in gold. The actual action of handing the flowers to this woman is one of submissiveness and duty. The other nymph in red is seeming to point out to the human man in blue the bounty of fruit that he is being given. Her finger, gently pointing in the direction of the fruit and the flowers, and ultimately over to the vine full of flowers and fruit and cherubs leads the eye of the viewer and grabs the attention of the man. This is the earth graciously providing for the humans. The humans are just there, and earth provides their needs and wants without questioning. By having the humans visually identifiable, but not having them be characters of myths, they represent the entire human race and their intimate relation with the