Frans Floris's "Allegory of the Trinity" (1562) and the limits of tolerance

• Autores: Edward Wouk
• Localización: Art history: journal of the Association of Art Historians, ISSN 0141-6790, Vol. 38, Nº. 1, 2015, págs. 38-67
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Frans Floris's monumental Allegory of the Trinity, signed and dated 1562, presents a radical vision of a restructured religious order. Aligning the Pope with the devil and removing the Virgin Mary from her traditional role as intercessor, the image relates the essence of Christian faith to the loving bond between a humble hen and her chicks. The present essay explores the relationship between this extraordinary iconography and Nicodemism, a religious movement which attracted many of the artist's patrons through its conciliatory response to sectarian factionalism and its irenic stance against violence. Floris's decision to include his self-portrait in the work divulges his personal investment in its subject. This study examines why Floris produced such an image at the height of his career and explores the strategies he used to respond visually to growing threats against his society and the fundaments of his art.