Formerly attributed to Agostino Carracci (1557‒1602), a series of fouroil paintings representing scenes of vivid, almost choreographic sexualencounters at the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna (figs. 6.1‒6.4)– usually referred to as Allegories of Love –is now consensually assigned to Pauwels Franck, also known as PaoloFiammingo (1540‒1596). While a few significant studies have beendedicated to explore the visual metaphors depicted in this series, alongwith the scrutiny of its literary sources, little (to no) attempt (at all)has been made so far to examine the connections between these paintings andthe social context of sixteenth-century Venice, in association with ideasand ideals conveyed by contemporary treatises of love. In fact, both primaryand secondary sources consecrated to this series have consistently built uptheir discourses without investigating in detail, aside from providingformal and iconographic considerations, the most blatant feature of theseworks: their pervasive, nearly sonorous eroticism. This silence has operatedwhat could be called a ‘hermeneutic neutralisation’ of thesocial as well as ideological implications of these works on canvas.

Previous studies have dated this group of paintings around 1584‒1589.The intricate narrative of their provenance has been reconstructed by OttoKurz in a seminal article published in 1951, which represents the firstscholarly oriented study ever dedicated to the series.