Francken The Younger

The piece from the Museum of Fine Arts that I chose to write about is Frans Francken the Younger’s Allegory of Man’s Choice between Vice and Virtue. This oil painting on panel is instantly captivating. Not only is the work breathtakingly large in size, but the detail and extravagance of the painting beckon an audience. The painting depicts Earth in the middle of Heaven and Hell. The contrast between colors of the three realms instantly attracted me to the piece. Looking at the work, there seems to a unique blend of both mythical Greco-Roman religion and early Christian thought, which speaks to many of the works of the Core curriculum. In it's depiction of Heaven, Hell, and Earth, Francken’s painting is meant to tell the story of the divine …show more content…
This painting serves as a warning for those who choose to take either of these paths in life. The placement of Heaven in the painting makes this very clear. Unlike Earth and Hell, Heaven does not span the entire length of the painting. It is instead shown in a small section of the center of the painting. Originally, I believed this was the artist’s way of being modest like Dante in Paradiso. Francken did not want to show the entirety of Heaven because he did not believe that he could properly represent the glory of the divine realm. While this may be true in part, it seems that upon the placement of Heaven contributes more to the story that this painting is telling. Heaven is placed only above a select few people. There is a woman with a cross to represent a religious life and the goddess Minerva is also placed below heaven. Both of these women live virtuous lives. The woman carrying the cross is virtuous in the Christian sense, whereas Minerva, the goddess of wisdom is Heaven, represents the type of virtuous contemplative life that Aristotle would support. Because these women are virtuous and moderate, as suggested by their physical location in the painting, they are allowed a place in Heaven. The artist encourages people to take this path in life. Heaven does not, however, span the entire painting. Heaven is not seen above the over the lustful, the gluttonous or those obsessed with power. This suggests that these paths will not lead to Heaven. The only path for those who live in these extremes is the only place in which they are reflected, which is

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