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The image shows a man seated among various allegorical figures. The man has a short beard and curly hair, wearing a large ruff and richly adorned attire. Surrounding him are mythological and symbolic figures, including a skeletal figure, a winged cherub, and an elderly, bearded man with wings and a scythe. The background features intricate architectural embellishments and putti holding decorative garlands and objects. To the man's right is a portrait of a young woman in a decorative oval frame. The scene is filled with symbolic items, creating a baroque and complex composition.
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The image shows a man seated among various allegorical figures. The man has a short beard and curly hair, wearing a large ruff and richly adorned attire. Surrounding him are mythological and symbolic figures, including a skeletal figure, a winged cherub, and an elderly, bearded man with wings and a scythe. The background features intricate architectural embellishments and putti holding decorative garlands and objects. To the man's right is a portrait of a young woman in a decorative oval frame. The scene is filled with symbolic items, creating a baroque and complex composition.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Bartholomew and Christina Spranger

Aegidius Sadeler II

Medium
engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 29.7 × 41.8 cm (11 11/16 × 16 7/16 in.)
Classification
Print · Historical Portrait
Accession number
1950.14.1139
Credit line
Rosenwald Collection
Time span
1551 to 1600
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • Flemish
Provenance

W. B. Dukes [d. 1942], London, (L.2757a); (Sotheby, London, sale July 8, 1942, no. 112); Hermann Marx [d. 1948], Surrey, (L.2816a); (Sotheby, London, sale May 24, 1948, no. 165); Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891 - 1979], Philadelphia, (L.1932d); gift to NGA, 1950.

NGA object ID 38777. 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.