Read the visual description
The image displays a person reclined amidst swirling clouds, their body slightly angled with the left arm resting on a cloud and the right arm extended outwards. The person has a serene gaze directed upwards, with short, curly hair adorned with a thin band or headpiece. They wear flowing drapery covering the legs and wrapped around the upper torso, leaving the shoulders exposed. A small peacock is positioned to the right side, showing its feathers. The background is filled with clouds.
National Gallery of Art · Print
Air
Jan Sadeler I, after Dirck Barendsz
- Date
- 1587
- Medium
- engraving on laid paper
- Dimensions
- sheet: 17.5 × 23.1 cm (6 7/8 × 9 1/8 in.) (trimmed to plate mark)
- Classification
- Accession number
- 2012.92.591
- Credit line
- Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
- Time span
- 1551 to 1600
- Department
- CG-E
Portfolio and series
- Series
- The Four Elements, as Mythological Figures (Plate 1)
Provenance
(Hill-Stone, Inc., New York); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased March 6, 2006; Gift to NGA, 2012.
Inscription
in image, at top center: AER, in image at bottom: T. Bern: Amst: invet: I. Sadeler scalps: FRANCOFVRT AD MOENV. 1587.; below image: At tibi cui paret uarijs obnoxius AER / Motibus, ut tua sint mitia regna precor / Sic nostrae euenient spiracla salabria vitae, / Atque accepta sibi haec commoda luno feret.
NGA object ID 154014. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.