The Language of Continent Allegories in Baroque Central Europe

The iconography of the four continents dates back to 16th and early 17th centuries, at a time when Europe's vision of the world was changed dramatically by discovery and conquest of the New World. Its peak of dissemination was reached in the 18th century. The late Baroque claims a special role for t [...]
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The iconography of the four continents dates back to 16th and early 17th centuries, at a time when Europe's vision of the world was changed dramatically by discovery and conquest of the New World. Its peak of dissemination was reached in the 18th century. The late Baroque claims a special role for two reasons: The first is the large number of reproductions and applications during this period, the second is the multifaceted significance these allegories enjoyed. They could be inserted into religious and liturgical settings as well as into political language or that of the history of civilization and mankind. "Language" in this sense means that the continent allegories were less the object of an art historical interpretation than being considered a formative part of religious, liturgical, political, historical and other discourses. As pictorial language they were interwoven with text, dogmas, narratives and stereotypes. Thus the authors of this volume inquire what the allegories of the four continents actually meant to people living in the Baroque age.