An Allegory of Man
- Artist: Unknown artist, Britain
- Date: 1596 or after
- Medium: Oil paint on wood
- Dimensions: support: 570 x 514 mm
- Museum: Tate Britain
- Collection record: Tate Britain website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the An Allegory of Man by an unknown artist from Britain, painted around 1596 or slightly later. It’s a small panel of oil on wood, about 57 cm by 51 cm, which makes the detail all the more striking. Above, the resurrected Christ holds a cross, his face mirrored in the man below, a subtle reminder that the earthly journey mirrors the heavenly. At the centre, a man in classical military garb is surrounded by a spiral of scrolls bearing names of virtues—Temperance, Charity, Patience, and more—like a protective shield.
Beneath him, the Seven Deadly Sins attack with arrows labeled Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Wrath. Each is personified, often holding a bow or crossbow, casting a dark threat. A skeleton representing Death stands nearby, its spear pointed at the man, while a child‑angel gazes upward, linking the human struggle to the divine. The bottom cartouche carries a stern warning in early modern English, urging people to avoid vanity and to keep praying for safe passage to heaven.
What makes this painting so special is how rare it is—most religious images from this period were suppressed after the Reformation. Yet here we have a vivid, almost theatrical depiction of moral peril and spiritual hope, all wrapped in an inscription that still feels as urgent today as it did over four centuries ago.
See it in person
An Allegory of Man is in the collection of Tate Britain on Millbank, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
