Allegory of Faith 1620 - 1649

Hans Friedrich Schorer created this Allegory of Faith sometime in the first half of the 17th century using pen and black ink with gray wash on paper. The image depicts Faith personified as a woman holding a cross and a book, likely the Bible. These symbols speak to the religious and cultural context of the time, a period marked by the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Created in Germany, a region deeply affected by these religious shifts, the artwork reflects the intense focus on religious doctrine and personal faith. The institutional history of art at this time also plays a role; religious allegories were commonly commissioned by the church or wealthy patrons. To understand it better, we can research the social role of religious imagery, as well as the specific visual conventions used to represent abstract concepts like faith. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.