The image portrays a detailed allegorical scene with multiple figures and intricate elements. In the center left, a man is depicted from the waist up, wearing a richly adorned garment with a high ruffled collar. His facial hair is styled in a moustache and pointed beard, and he has a serious expression. Behind him, angelic figures and allegorical beings hold various objects like trumpets and a scythe. On the right, an ornate oval portrait of a woman is shown from the chest up, adorned with a lace collar and neatly styled hair. She has a solemn and composed expression. Below the portrait, a cherub holds up a drapery that reveals a skull. Around the figures are items related to art and time, such as a painter's palette, an hourglass, and bones. The background is filled with elaborate ornamentation, including fruits and decorative elements, creating a rich visual environment.
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The image portrays a detailed allegorical scene with multiple figures and intricate elements. In the center left, a man is depicted from the waist up, wearing a richly adorned garment with a high ruffled collar. His facial hair is styled in a moustache and pointed beard, and he has a serious expression. Behind him, angelic figures and allegorical beings hold various objects like trumpets and a scythe. On the right, an ornate oval portrait of a woman is shown from the chest up, adorned with a lace collar and neatly styled hair. She has a solemn and composed expression. Below the portrait, a cherub holds up a drapery that reveals a skull. Around the figures are items related to art and time, such as a painter's palette, an hourglass, and bones. The background is filled with elaborate ornamentation, including fruits and decorative elements, creating a rich visual environment.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Bartholomaeus Spranger and his Late Wife Christina Muller

Aegidius Sadeler II, after Bartholomaeus Spranger

Date
c. 1600
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 28.4 x 42.2 cm (11 3/16 x 16 5/8 in.) (trimmed)
Classification
Print
Accession number
2012.92.593
Credit line
Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen
Time span
1551 to 1600
Department
CG-E

Subjects and terms

  • engraving
  • Artist
Provenance

(Paul Prouté, S.A., Paris); Ruth Kainen, Washington, D.C., purchased June 7, 2007; Gift to NGA, 2012.

Inscription

in image, in cartouche at top right: MORS INIQVA QVID TANTVM / DECVS RAPIS? PIETAS AEQVA / QVAE ET MORTVAM SERVAS; in image, in oval around portrait at right: CHRISTINA MVLLERINA VXOR B. SPRANGER; in image, at bottom left: QVID ANTE DIEM VVLTIS? TE / TEMPVS VETAT OCCIDERE. TE / ARTES PRAECLARAE CADERE.

NGA object ID 154016. 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.