An Allegorical Subject the Just Ruler
Artist: Willem De Poorter (Dutch, 1608 - after 1649)
Original Dimensions: 19 3/4" x 14 3/4"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (Probably 1636) "This isn’t a portrait – it is an allegory, an attempt to represent an idea or ideal. Interpreting the symbolism, however, is difficult. We see a young man, upright and slightly aloof as he turns his head to look us directly in the eye. The figure may be based on a book of iconology by Cesare Ripa which was published around this time. It includes an illustration of a sumptuously dressed woman wearing a wreath and breastplate and carrying a sceptre, and is captioned as Merit. If this was de Poorter’s intention here, then we might understand the image as an embodiment of Merit assuming worldly power, and so representing the Just Ruler. He stands literally enlightened by the sunshine from the high window, the sceptre indicating his authority; the crowns, his regal status; the cuirass (breastplate) his strength. He seems to reject the instruments and bombast of war however, in favour of the laws inscribed on the parchment." - (National Gallery of Art, London)
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