Art Institute of Chicago

Death with an Arrow About to Strike Man Down, from Allegory of the Misuse of Worldly Property

Willem van Swanenburgh (Dutch, 1580–1612)

Date

1609

Medium

Engraving on ivory laid paper

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This print series uses symbolic imagery to criticize the love and pursuit of worldly and material goods. A well-to-do man in a white neck ruff is repeatedly tempted by bags of gold presented to him by a blindfolded cupid and a horned demon. In the first print, the Devil sits before an easel, painting the man’s heart with images of women and jewels, while a woman ties a cord around the man’s ankle, binding him to the sin of lust. In the second, Cupid has been transformed from a symbol of pure love into one of greed as he points at bags of coins, tempting the man to climb the cliff. In the third plate, the Devil helps the man place a statue representing Hope onto the coins. Only in the final print, when the man is approached by the skeletal figure of Death, does he realize that his horde of treasure will not protect him. The series is based on designs by Maerten van Heemskerck, known for his allegorical compositions that were intended to reinforce moral lessons.

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