Hiding in Plain Sight

Published: Tuesday, 18 February 2025

On February 9th, Kendrick Lamar performed at the Super Bowl [1] halftime show. Millions watched as he transformed the field into a canvas of symbols and metaphors. The choreography, costumes, music, and set design were spectacular, but also spoke a visual symbolic language as old as art. It was a living allegorical painting with layers upon layers of deeper meaning. In that moment, Lamar wasn't just a musician—he was working in the same tradition as the great allegorical painters of history, using symbols to speak controversial truths.

The essence of allegorical art is the ability to hide radical messages in plain sight. From Renaissance painters encoding political dissent in mythological scenes, to modern artists embedding social critique in music and dance, allegory has always been a sophisticated form of resistance. It can be the weapon of choice for the bold, allowing artists to speak truth to power while maintaining plausible deniability; the encryption protects the messenger while amplifying the message. This strategy remains as vital in our age of digital surveillance as it was in the courts of Renaissance Florence.

An allegorical painting uses symbols to convey deeper meanings, often moral, political, or philosophical. It is the visual equivalent of George Orwell's Animal Farm; just as Orwell used farm animals to discuss Stalinist oppression, artists use carefully chosen images to explore ideas too dangerous to address directly. This strategy of encoding controversial messages within acceptable forms has given us some of history's most enduring masterpieces.

The tools for encoding meaning through symbols have evolved over time. Renaissance artists had their handbook of symbols in Cesare Ripa's Iconologia (1593), while contemporary artists work with an expanded vocabulary that includes everything from classical mythology to pop culture references. Yet the fundamental goal remains the same: to speak truth through beauty. The basic human impulse to encode and decode meaning through symbols remains remarkably consistent across centuries.

Scene from Kendrick Lamar's half time show performance: a divided flag in a culturally divided country.

To fully appreciate allegorical art—whether Renaissance masterpieces or contemporary performances—we must understand its symbolic vocabulary. Unfortunately, many of us encounter allegorical works without the tools to decode their deeper meanings. This disconnect leaves us admiring the surface beauty while missing the revolutionary messages hidden beneath.

The term comes from the Latin word allegoria, meaning “veiled language”. That sentiment captures a common feeling that many of us experience when confronting a new artwork for the first time: allegoric works can overwhelm with their dense symbolism. But the secret is: you don’t need an art history degree to understand them. You just need a method, patience, and perhaps a friendly guide. Today we will examine a few classic pieces together, and then I will provide a roadmap for you to use on your own.

Masters of Allegory

Throughout history, artists have developed sophisticated techniques to speak painful truths through beautiful lies. It is why Renaissance painters could discuss dangerous political ideas or social scandals under the guise of mythological scenes, and why modern artists like Kendrick Lamar employ symbolic imagery to tackle contemporary issues. The best artists were even able to transform restriction and constraint into opportunity, using beauty to protect and amplify controversies.

We're not going to analyze Lamar's performance too deeply... that's been done very well all over Youtube and TikTok. Although it's worth mentioning that one thing I did notice was how many different interpretations of the show there are, and how confident each commentator is that their analysis was the "true meaning". It is a fascinating real-time example of multiple layers of meaning, and the artist letting the audience draw their own conclusions while maintaining plausible deniability [2].

Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix, 1830, oil on canvas, Louvre Museum, Paris.

Consider Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People - a masterclass in allegorical resistance. What appears to be a dramatic battle scene is actually a sophisticated argument for revolution: Liberty personified, bare-breasted wearing a working-class Phrygian cap bearing the tricolor flag, leads a crowd of well-dressed bourgeoisie and rough-clothed laborers, representing different social classes united in struggle. The smoke behind her forms a subtle halo, transforming this political uprising into something sacred that recalls the religious imagery of saints and martyrs [3]. Delacroix wasn't just painting a revolution—he was arguing that political uprising was a divine right.

A Tale of Spring

Primavera, Sandro Botticelli, c. 1480, tempera on panel, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

Botticelli's Primavera is a masterpiece of Renaissance allegory [4], embodying the period's complex fusion of classical and Christian traditions. As Mensil astutely observes, Botticelli's mythological works exist at the intersection of medieval and Renaissance sensibilities, weaving together chivalric romance with Greco-Roman mythology [5].

Set in a verdant orange grove adorned with laurel trees, Primavera (meaning "Spring") represents eternal themes of renewal and rebirth as well as a temporal and spiritual beginning. Until 1750, the new year in Florence commenced on March 25—the Feast of Annunciation.

At first glance, the scene looks like a picnic once all the Pimms has been drunk... but, a closer look shows a carefully orchestrated assembly of classical deities who personify spring's eternal themes of renewal and rebirth.

On the left is Mercury, the messenger of the gods, standing in a classical, and might I say sassily with that arm pop, contrapposto (counterpoise) using his caduceus (staff) to ward off approaching storm clouds. Next to him, are the Three Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia), the deified beauties of Greek mythology. This vision of harmony and dance is overseen by Venus and Cupid, whose presence sanctifies this political and spiritual renaissance. Meanwhile, the right side of the scene is dominated by the dramatic scene of Zephyr and Chloris, whose metamorphosis into Flora mirrors Florence's own renewal.

Phew, that's a lot going on in one scene! But Botticelli's choice of these ancient themes was deeply topical: the painting's allegorical depth extends beyond mere seasonal representation to encompass contemporary Florentine politics.

The orange grove and laurel trees serve as potent symbols of Medici power, particularly that of Lorenzo de' Medici. The theme of spring suggests Florence's emergence from political winter into a new era of prosperity. Primavera gains deeper resonance when viewed through the lens of contemporary Florentine history. Two years before its creation, the Pazzi conspiracy— orchestrated by a rival banking family with papal support— shattered Florence's peace when assassins struck during High Mass at the Duomo on Easter Sunday, April 26, 1478. Giuliano de' Medici died from nineteen dagger wounds while his brother Lorenzo narrowly escaped, taking refuge in the church's sacristy. This violent interruption of sacred space on Easter marked both an ending and a beginning.

Some scholars suggest the painting's Venus or Flora bears the idealized features of Simonetta Vespucci, known as "La Sans Pareille" (The Unparalleled One), the celebrated beauty rumored to have caught Giuliano's eye before both met untimely deaths (she from tuberculosis at 22, he from assassination at 25). Their speculated presence in the painting, transformed into eternal spring rather than eternal rest, adds personal mourning to its political symbolism. Through this lens, the painting becomes not just a celebration of renewal, but a sophisticated meditation on loss, remembrance, and the cyclical nature of power. Themes that would have resonated deeply with its Medici patrons, particularly Lorenzo [6].

You can see why Botticelli couldn't paint THAT, right?! Not without losing his clients and maybe his head. Instead, he relies on allegory and the audience's knowledge of classical myths to tell a contemporary tale... while keeping plausible deniability about what the artwork is actually about.

Keeping The Faith

Botticelli used mythology to navigate political danger in Florence. Vermeer faced a different challenge in Protestant Netherlands. Where Primavera cloaked its message in classical beauty, Allegory of Catholic Faith hid its religious defiance within the acceptable genre of Dutch interior painting.

Allegory of the Catholic Faith, Johannes Vermeer, c. 1670-1672, oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Painted nearly two centuries later, Vermeer's Allegory of Catholic Faith is one of the most intricate examples of symbolic storytelling in Dutch Golden Age painting. While Vermeer is celebrated for his intimate domestic scenes, this work reveals a complex theological program and is not one of his most popular paintings. Each element in the composition serves as a carefully considered vehicle for religious meaning, transforming a seemingly simple interior into a profound meditation on faith.

The central figure, a woman personifying Faith, commands the composition with deliberate theatrical presence. Her foot rests purposefully on a terrestrial globe - a clear statement of Faith's triumph over worldly concerns - while her upward gaze directs viewers toward divine contemplation. Next to her, a crown of thorns rests on an open Bible. Above, a glass sphere suspended by a blue ribbon captures and refracts light in a manner contemporary viewers recognized as a reference to divine illumination [7]. This interplay between physical and spiritual light was a particular preoccupation of 17th-century Catholic thought.

The painting's foreground presents an arrangement of objects that reads like a theological text: an apple and crushed snake reference humanity's fall and redemption, while a chalice and crucifix evoke the Eucharistic presence. Even the marble floor tiles serve a dual purpose, their perspective lines drawing our attention to a painting-within-the-painting depicting a simplified version of Jacob Jordaens' Crucifixion, revealed behind a pulled-back curtain. This work's historical context is compelling: created during a period when Catholics in Protestant-dominated Netherlands practiced their faith in hidden churches, Vermeer - a Catholic convert - transformed a domestic interior into a powerful assertion of religious conviction [8].

Decoding the Framework of Allegorical Art

While Botticelli wove political and seasonal renewal into his mythological narrative, Vermeer transformed a domestic interior into a theological statement. His central figure of Faith mirrors Botticelli's Venus in commanding the visual narrative, though serving a distinctly different ideological purpose. Every element—from the symbolic still life of fall and redemption to the carefully positioned light-refracting sphere—contributes to a complex religious dialogue, much as Primavera's Flora and classical figures speak to Medicean politics.

These masterworks reveal a sophisticated artistic strategy that remains vital today. When Botticelli used mythology to discuss politics, or Vermeer embedded Catholic doctrine in domestic scenes, they were developing techniques that contemporary artists still employ. The tools have changed, but the fundamental strategy persists: using acceptable forms to convey unauthorized messages.

This evolution doesn't invalidate traditional allegorical analysis; rather, it enriches it. Just as Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl performance wove together personal narrative, historical reference, and social commentary, Renaissance and Baroque masters created multi-level works. The difference is that modern artists must navigate intersectionality, digital mediation, and the collapse of high/low cultural distinctions—making their allegorical work more challenging and potentially more powerful.

Like any language, allegorical art has its own grammar and vocabulary. Artists across centuries have developed three fundamental techniques for embedding meaning in their work:

Allegorical Figures: These are personifications of abstract concepts. In Botticelli's Primavera, for instance, Spring isn't just a season - it's personified through several figures. We see this technique in Marina Abramović's The Artist is Present, where she sat motionless for over 700 hours, embodying presence, endurance, and the relationship between artist and viewer. Her stillness transformed her from an individual into a symbol of art itself.
Symbolic Objects: These items represent larger ideas. In Vermeer's Allegory of Catholic Faith, a simple glass sphere becomes a powerful symbol of divine truth, while a snake crushed by a cornerstone represents triumph over evil. Consider Ai Weiwei's installation of 100 million hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds — each seed identical yet unique, representing both the uniformity demanded by Chinese mass production and the individuality of its citizens.
Multiple Meanings: Objects or figures with multiple layers of significance. In Botticelli's Primavera, Mercury's gesture of dispersing clouds operates simultaneously as a classical reference (the god clearing spring skies), a political statement (Medici power dispelling threats to Florence), and a philosophical allegory (divine wisdom banishing ignorance). This layering of meanings continues in contemporary art: when Banksy shredded Girl with Balloon at auction, the act transformed a simple painting into a complex statement about art's value, capitalism, and the nature of destruction as creation—the partially shredded work, renamed Love is in the Bin, became an entirely new piece worth several times more than its original value.

Understanding these symbolic techniques is just the first step. To fully decode allegorical works, we need a systematic approach—a method for uncovering layers of meaning that might not be apparent at first glance. Here's how to begin your analysis:

Who are the figures, and what are they doing?
What objects are present?
What's happening in the background?
Where does the light come from, and what does it illuminate (or hide)?
What colors dominate?

Finally, consider the context:

When was it painted?
Who commissioned it?
What was happening historically?

Conclusion: Allegory in the Digital Age

When Kendrick Lamar performs at the Super Bowl, he's working in the same tradition as Botticelli and Vermeer—using accepted forms to speak unauthorized truths. His choreography, like Botticelli's mythology or Vermeer's domestic scenes, creates a double message: entertainment for the masses, revelation for those who understand the code. In an age of surveillance capitalism and algorithmic content moderation, this ability to encode resistance within acceptable forms becomes increasingly crucial [9].

From Renaissance Florence to today's digital sphere, allegory has evolved with the tools of power it confronts. Where Botticelli and Vermeer once navigated religious persecution and political censorship, contemporary artists face algorithmic moderation and digital surveillance. Yet their strategy remains unchanged: transforming acceptable forms into vehicles for uncomfortable truth. Whether through classical mythology, domestic scenes, or mass entertainment, artists continue finding ways to speak the unspeakable.

[1] For our British readers, the Super Bowl is America's answer to the FA Cup Final.

[2] A picture is truly worth a thousand words.

[3] Delacroix cleverly borrowed from classical art— his Liberty figure directly references the ancient Greek goddess Nike, victory personified. By mixing revolutionary politics with classical imagery, he gave his radical message the authority of ancient tradition. This technique of using classical references to legitimize contemporary ideas was a favorite tool of allegorical painters.

[4] Editor's Note: Ah, so we're not discussing the hit single "La Primavera" by DJ Sash? That's a shame: 1997 to 1999 was an epic time for Eurodance-trance-pop music. Next week, perhaps. Encore une fois...

[5] The Primavera's complexity has inspired centuries of scholarship, with each generation finding new meanings. The painting weaves together references from classical poets like Ovid and Lucretius, contemporary writers like Poliziano, and Florentine political symbolism. While we've touched on key elements, entire books focus on single figures in the painting. For those intrigued, I recommend Philippe Daverio's Botticelli Detective and Charles Dempsey's Portrayal of Love for a deeper dive into the painting's mysteries. This video clip from the tv show Medici may be melodramatic, however, I always find visual references helpful for context.

[6] If I were Simonetta's husband, and my wife was immortalised in several of the most romantic paintings in art history with her presumed lover... I'd be PISSED.. lol.

[7] The glass sphere in Vermeer's painting might seem like a simple decorative element—these were common in Dutch homes of the period—but Vermeer transformed this everyday object into a powerful religious symbol by connecting it to Catholic writings about divine illumination. It's a masterclass in hiding profound meanings in plain sight.

[8] The crushed snake beneath the cornerstone comes from Genesis 3:15, where God promises Eve's descendants will triumph over evil. For Catholic viewers, this subtle reference transformed a simple still life element into a powerful statement of faith's victory over persecution. Understanding Vermeer's personal story adds another layer to the painting's meaning. He converted to Catholicism to marry his wife, making this work not just a public statement about faith, but a deeply personal testament to his own spiritual journey. It reminds us that allegorical works often carry both public and private sentiments.

[9] Just as Renaissance painters used classical mythology to discuss contemporary politics, Lamar's choreography transforms familiar symbols—uniforms, formations, gestures—into powerful statements about power, resistance, and identity in modern America. His performance shows how the language of allegory continues to evolve while maintaining its essential purpose: speaking difficult truths through symbolic means.

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