An Allegory of War and Peace

The present work relates to another picture, with numerous differences and omissions, of the same subject thought to have been executed in the late 1640s in a private collection in Germany (see K. Ertz, Jan Brueghel the Younger 1601-1678, Freren, 1984, vol. I, no. 235, pp. 395-7); another version attributed to Brueghel, again with significant differences, was sold at Christie's, London, 22 April 2005, lot 16. The meaning of the allegory remains enigmatic. Other such compositions, dealing with allegories of peace and war, seem to have been prompted by the political events of around 1643 leading up to the eventual Peace of Münster in 1648. As Ertz observes, the elements of a fertile earth on the left are contrasted with the elements of fire on the right, in this instance objects of luxury and beauty. The presence, however, of the zodiac sign of Leo in the sky, a detail that is absent in other versions, might suggest that the allegories in the distance here represent the Coronation of Leo I in 440 A.D. and Leo I meeting Attila the Hun. Attila invaded Italy in 452 A.D., and headed towards Rome. Leo travelled to Attila's encampment near Lake Garda, to plead with him to save the papal city from destruction. Attila subsequently withdrew and Leo was celebrated for his successful mission in brokering peace. The reasons for Attila turning back, however, have been much debated. Although there is no record of his being paid to retreat, it has been suggested that the pope offered him a sum of gold, which could plausibly explain the putti beating coins in the foreground.