Incostanza, An Allegory of Fickleness
Artist: Abraham Janssens I (Flemish, 1575–1632)
Date: c. 1617
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark
Description
The present painting shows “fickleness” in keeping with the era’s code books of symbols in art, where the semi-clad woman, the ever-changing moon, and crustaceans - capable of walking sideways - serve as markers for those of a mercurial temperament.
The artist, moved by a visual desire that we would now term voyeurism or fetishism, focuses intently on her breasts, which shine with a brightness even greater than that of the crescent-moon face she holds in her hand.
The breasts are associated with other feminine characteristics: with bodily matters, impulsivity, and the subconscious as well as with fertility and pregnancy.
The woman may be attractive, but she is also potentially dangerous. In contrast to the moon, the sun was typically a symbol of maleness and masculinity, i.e. of intelligence, will, exaltedness, and divinity.
