Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (1758--1823) and the problem of allegory

This dissertation critically examines the allegorical imagery of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon. The artist displayed a studied interest in the limits and possibilities of allegory, creating allegories in disparate media, and inserting allegorical significance into projects where it was not expressly necessary. In order to understand his allegorical oeuvre and the problematic of allegorical representation at the turn of the 19 th century more deeply, this dissertation studies Prud'hon's work in the context of the discussions about allegory that were taking place at the time. The chapters are organized thematically, addressing four of the central points explored in contemporary analyses of allegory. They are described as "problems" in this dissertation because they are portrayed by 18 th - and 19 th -century texts as posing complications or obstacles to the legibility of visual art: the problem of text (the literary origins of allegory and their conversion into visual terms in art); the problem of meaning (the stakes and consequences of the viewer misreading visual allegory); the problem of ekphrasis (the difficulties inherent to the process of explaining the elements of an allegorical scene