Art Institute of Chicago

An Allegory of Abundance

Cristofano Robetta

Date

c. 1515

Medium

Engraving in black on cream laid paper

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This engraving depicts a seated female figure holding a staff surmounted by an urn filled with flowers, fruit, and wheat, similar to the urn traditionally held by Ceres, the Roman goddess of the harvest. The child grasping the figure’s breast in a fertility gesture suggests an alternate identity, that of the earth goddess Tellus. Robetta rendered the rocky terrain with heavy clusters of undulating curves, a technique likely inspired by early-16th-century engravings by Albrecht Dürer. The cartelliño suspended from the tree originally held the artist’s signature, but this was scored through before an impression had been printed for some unknown reason.

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