I am trying to find the name of this apinting-it was an allegory of Mussolini’s Ialy-with Benito Mussolini as a jack-in-the-box.
I recall seeing it years ago-anybody know who painted it?
A quickie Google search would suggest it’s The Eternal City by Peter Blume, which is on display at the MoMA.
I don’t know if it’s the right one, though, since it doesn’t fit the usual style of an allegorical painting. I’d probably label it as “surreal” if I had to pick just one word to describe it.
I expect Mahna Mahna’s got it–Blume’s painting is the only really famous work I can think of that portrays Mussolini as a jack-in-a-box.
Incidentally, allegorical paintings can be done in a variety of styles, even though they’re often of classical subjects and so done in a more classical style. There are a few other surrealist paintings that can be described as allegorical–e.g., Dali’s *Soft Construction with Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil War)*, which, as the title suggests, is an allegory on the Spanish Civil War. OK, it’s not a terribly CLEAR allegory, but that’s Dali for you. 