Bellini #3 (Allegory of Perseverance)

Bellini #3 is part of a series of prints based in part on a celebrated set of allegorical paintings by Italian Renaissance master Giovanni Bellini (1430–1516). Rauschenberg’s print prominently features a photographic image of Bellini’s “Falsehood” allegory, depicting a man holding a large snake as he emerges from an enormous sea shell carried by two other men. Though the precise meaning of Bellini’s motif remains uncertain, it is believed by some to represent a generative source of virtue and wisdom. The allegorical image acts as an anchoring visual device, onto which Rauschenberg assembles various secondary images that visually and conceptually relate to the central image. Like the allegory, Rauschenberg’s print is enigmatic, allowing the viewer to assign and generate meaning by interpreting the interrelationships of the juxtaposed images.