Allegory of the Tree of Life

This is a very thought-provoking painting by the sixteenth century painter Ignacio de Ries at the Cathedral of Segovia, Spain titled Alegoria del Arbol de la Vida (Allegory of the Tree of Life).

Below the tree on the right is Jesus and to the left Death.  Jesus is about to ring a bell and Death has already prepared a rope for a small devil to pull the almost-cut tree to its side.  People are enjoying a lively banquet on top of the tree, but if you look closely, they are kissing and indulging too much in food and drink – leading a life of debauchery.

The bell about to be rung by Jesus is the moment of the people’s death and Death is ready to pull them to its side as the tree comes down.  The words painted on top say in old Castillian:

Mira que te as de morir
Mira que no sabes cuando
Mira que te mira Dios
Mira que te esta mirando

Roughly translated:

Watch for you are to die
Watch for you don’t know when
Watch for God is watching
Watch for He is watching you

The words make God sound like a divine policeman or big brother, but Ignacio de Ries makes his point loud and clear: you never know when death will come, so you must be prepared or you will be caught unpreapared like the people in the painting.

Pictures are mine, all rights reserved.