"A portrait is a picture in which there is just a tiny little something not quite right about the mouth." -- John Singer Sargent

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Grammar





This 1650 painting, Allegory of Grammar by Laurent de La Hyre hangs in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, Maryland.
"As in the companion Allegory of Arithmetic, this personification of the liberal art of Grammar is engaged in an activity to show how ideas impact real life. To demonstrate how important grammar and clear writing are in making ideas 'bloom,' the artist metaphorically represents Grammar watering two pots of flowers. Over her arm is a scroll bearing an ancient definition of grammar in Latin: 'A literate tongue, spoken in the required manner.'

By the inscription, L. DE LA Hyre In. & F. 1650 ­- 'In.' is an abbreviation for invenit (Latin for invented) and 'F.' for fecit (made it) -- the artist emphasized his responsibility for the conception as well as the execution of the paintings." -- The Walters Art Gallery
Vox Literata et Articulata, Debito Modo Pronunciata



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