Laurent De La Hyre: Allegory Of Geometry

“Allegory of Geometry” by Laurent de La Hyre, which was done in oil on canvas, in 1649. The painting is signed by La Hyre on the lower center part of the painting along with the date created. La Hyre is a French painter who was “born in Feb. 27, 1606, in Paris, France”(1) and later “died in Dec. 28, 1656, in Paris”(1). La Hyre is also known by La Hire, but his official name is spelled “La Hyre”. La Hyre is a painter of the French Baroque period who focused heavily in Classicism style which made him known as an artist in the French Baroque period. La Hyre’s “paintings reflects the influence of Vouet, Poussin, and Claude.” (2) due to his paintings being in the classicism style and sticking to paintings from historic events.Poussin who liked classism and painted using one triangle while La Hyre painted his paintings with two triangles from one point to the other. On the “Allegory of Geometry” both triangles meet at the sphinx head. One is shorter than the other, but the longer one goes left creating little depth while the shorter triangle goes right to create depth to the painting mainly the Egyption art, buildings,and sculptures. Like Caravaggio, La Hyre did not “received any formal education either in a school or in a …show more content…
The woman is not dressed in modern clothing at the time of the work being painted in, but she is dressed in various robes. The Globe represents the use of map-making and how math plays a huge role when making maps. Maps need to be precise in order for them to be effective and math makes that happen when done right. On top of the map there is a snake, which “the snake, refers to the goddess ' ancient personification of the earth”(6). On the painting on the “right sits a sphinx that symbolically represents Egypt, where an early form of geometry was