|
|
8. Raphael Sadeler I (1561-1632) after Joos van Winghe Allegory of Opulence, Fornication and Stupidity
Etching and engraving, 1588, 288 x 347 mm., Hollstein 186, TIB 169 ii or iii/iii. Brilliant impression on laid paper, trimmed slightly into the subject, removing a line of text at the top and possibly at the bottom, and re-margined. There is an old collector’s numbering in ink verso. One could spend years parsing the symbology of this print: the coxcomb being placed on the head of the king (fool); the elegantly-dressed but pig-headed figure of Stupidity; the ape on the floor (sin, lust); the mirror that reflects future age rather than present beauty; money and the appurtenances of riches everywhere; etc. Add to this the classic, Romanesque architectural setting and the Mannerist twists and torsions of the figures and one has an image not merely bizarre but disturbing and worth staring at for a long, long time. We have not seen another impression of this print for sale. |
|
|
|