It reminds me a bit of these old paintings which are filled with allegories and symbolism that many people today just completely miss; e.g. a lute is a symbol o

It reminds me a bit of these old paintings which are filled with allegories and symbolism that many people today just completely miss; e.g. a lute is a symbol of female fertility and stuff like that. I'd have to re-read Lovecraft's works, but I never got this impression myself when reading it. Not that I'm saying you're wrong, just underscoring that the context of the reader also matters as you say. This also applies in the other direction: you might read "meaning" into some piece of literature or art that the original creator(s) never intended.