# Allegory \(verso of the Portrait of a Man\) [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [BARBARI, Jacopo de']() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Oil on poplar panel, 61 x 46 cm ## Commentary The reverse side of the Portrait of a Man is painted by the same artist, it represents an allegory. Two figures stand in the centre of an unfurnished interior, nude except for wispy, transparent veils. Traditionally, they are interpreted as lovers. The painting combines an allegorical scene containing vanitas features with an exquisite still-life in the foreground, an allusion to the creative power of painting. The erotic connotation evokes depictions of Adam and Eve at the moment of the Fall as well as the theme of <a onclick="return OpenOther\('/html/b/baldung/1/061death.html'\)" href="/html/b/baldung/1/061death.html">Death and Maiden,</a> which became better known in the 1520s through Hans Baldung Grien. ## Related artworks - [Christ]() - [Cleopatra]() - [Mars and Venus]() - [Nude Woman Holding a Mirror]() - [Perspective plan of Venice \(detail\)]() - [Perspective plan of Venice \(detail\)]() - [Perspective plan of Venice \(detail\)]() - [Perspective plan of Venice]() - [Portrait of a Man]() - [Portrait of a Man]() - [Portrait of Fra Luca Pacioli and an Unknown Young Man]() - [Still-Life with Partridge and Gauntlet]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()