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Visual art doesn't need written text to tell a story.
Objects can function as symbols, gestures can imply events, and the arrangement of figures can suggest relationships.
Viewers familiar with the stories, myths, or traditions referenced by the artwork could recognize meanings that aren't obvious to modern audiences.
This is one reason art historians examine historical context when interpreting older works.
A seemingly ordinary object may have carried a very specific meaning when the artwork was created.
The painting can therefore communicate through a kind of visual vocabulary.
You may be looking at a story without seeing a single sentence.
© The Metropolitan Museum of Art