3. Myth, Allegory, or Simple Story? 

Many of the paintings we have looked at in this three-week course are straightforward illustrations of the well-known myths, stories whose origins are lost in the mists of time with no known author, even if, from time to time, we know the narrative from the way a particular writer has told the story. In other cases the Gods and Goddesses become metaphors, carrying ideas with them to communicate lines of thought through allegorical representation. There is not necessarily a ‘story’ to be told, but a concept that is being communicated. And then sometimes, we are dealing with a ‘simple’ story: one of these – the story of Psyche and Cupid – will form the focus of the second half of this talk. 

The talk will last for two hours, with a ten-minute break half-way through.