OP-ED: The allegory of good and bad government
Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s “Allegory of Good Government”
Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s “The Tyrant”
Gary Stout
”Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.”- Picasso.
We recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Italy that touched on many of the unique sights this country has to offer. Late October weather delivered cool evenings and warm cloudless days. Our tour group trekked from the Amalfi coast along the Mediterranean Sea to Venice on the Adriatic. All bucket lists were satisfied. Those searching for history, artwork, other worldly photographs, religious imagery, ever-changing regional food and wine, or simply seeking to be enveloped in the homeland of their grandparents were all well-rewarded.
On this trip, I looked forward to returning to Siena in Tuscany, where I planned to search out a series of three fresco panels painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in 1338-1339. This magnificent work located in Siena’s governmental council hall has become known as the “Allegory of Good and Bad Government.” It was commissioned to remind the nine magistrates who governed the Medieval Siena Republic of what constituted proper conduct as they made their executive and legal decisions. My goal was to determine whether this ancient allegory held lessons for our modern democratic society following a tumultuous election.
As luck would have it, the fresco panels were under renovation and off exhibit. Nonetheless, I learned a great deal about the paintings and the governance of Siena in the 14th century. For hundreds of years, this small city-state was able to maintain its status as a democratic republic in the shadow of larger principalities who sought to dominate Siena’s politics, banking and trade. The Battle of Montaperti fought on Sept. 4, 1260, between Florence and Siena saw the more powerful Florentines routed. It was the bloodiest battle fought in Medieval Italy with more than 10,000 fatalities. Each year, Siena commemorates this victory as an important holiday.
Lorenzetti’s “Allegory of Good and Bad Government” is a reminder that good government is characterized by Justice, Concord, Peace and Wisdom while bad government is animated by Division, Avarice, Fury, Vainglory and Tyranny. When good government reigns, all is well. When bad government plagues society, the Tyrant usurps the power of the people, and the citizens suffer.
The majestic figure in the middle of the “good government” panel, dressed in Siena’s colors, personifies the republic itself. Lorenzetti labels him Commune. He is telling the Siena citizens that they, not a king or tyrant, must rule themselves. Justice is enthroned and looking up at the figure of Wisdom, who actually supports her impartial scales.
Concord (or harmony) holds a rope that originates from the scales of Justice that binds her to the citizens, making them all compatriots of the republic. The republic is safeguarded by Security, whose banner reads: “Everyone shall go forth freely without fear.” Finally, we see Peace. She looks serene and confident that the republic is safe. The painting demonstrates the fragile nature of liberty. The precarious balance between state and society, between the political elites and the citizens.
Bad government is displayed on another panel. The Tyrant, not the Commune, rules over the people. He has horns, tusks and crossed eyes. Justice now lies helpless at his feet, in chains. Her equitable scales are destroyed and unable to keep government fair and accountable.
Around the Tyrant, Lorenzetti paints the vices that animate bad government. Avarice is the old woman behind him, clutching her strongbox and a fisherman’s hook to pull in her fortune. Vainglory carries a mirror. Lorenzetti warns us against narcissistic leaders guided by ego and vanity. On the tyrant’s right, we find Cruelty.
Treason is represented as half lamb, half scorpion. It lulls the people into a false sense of security and then poisons the republic. Fraud is painted with the flighty wings of a bat. On the Tyrant’s left, Division, who is clothed in Siena’s colors, chops her body in half with a carpenter’s saw. Fury attacks with the weapons of the mob: the stone and knife.
In the remainder of the fresco, Lorenzetti shows us the inevitable effects of bad government. The civic ideals celebrated elsewhere in the room have now been destroyed. The once beautiful city is falling to pieces. The countryside is barren; its farms are abandoned and in flames. In the sky above, the winged figure is not Security, but Fear. Her banner reads: “None shall pass along this road without fear of Death.”
Words cannot do justice to these amazing paintings. They can easily be viewed online to contemplate the power of the allegory. These 800-year-old images are familiar to us today and bind us to history. We see what democracy looks like. We experience the effects of good and of bad government in our world, just as Lorenzetti did in his life.
There are lessons here for American democracy that should be considered. Preserving liberty through many generations comes at a price. Citizens must do more than simply vote once a year. We have to disrupt our own lives with civic activism so that we can prevent the amoral accumulation of power by those who would betray our values.
Last Tuesday, the American people were challenged to raise justice up and to support a constitutional republic over ongoing political tribalism and violence. On Nov. 8, voters chose the path taken by Siena. They rejected the tyranny of election deniers and authoritarian government. Democracy is now on track to achieve a balanced recovery.
Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.