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Allegory of Geometry
1649
Artwork Viewer
The Allegory of Geometry belongs to a set of seven paintings depicting the seven liberal arts that formed the basis of classical education codified in antiquity: arithmetic, astronomy, dialectic, geometry, grammar, music, and rhetoric. La Hyre painted these pictures to decorate the Paris residence of Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux (1613-1668), a member of the Council of State. Geometry is personified as a woman holding a compass and right angle in one hand and a sheet inscribed with Euclidean mathematical proofs in her other hand. Surrounding her are examples of the practical applications of geometry, including an ancient Egyptian pyramid, a globe that refers to mapmaking, and a landscape painting on an easel.
- Artist
- Laurent de La Hyre
- Title
- Allegory of Geometry
- Date
- 1649
- Object Type
- Painting
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 40 7/8 x 86 1/8 in. (103.8 x 218.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase, Roscoe and Margaret Oakes Income Fund
- Accession Number
- 2014.13