Read the visual description
This is a drawing of an allegorical medieval theme. The artwork depicts a scene filled with symbolism. On the left side, a house labeled "Domus Hominis Prudentis" (House of the Wise Man) is shown, with figures labeled as "Cupiditas Vitæ," "Medicus," "Pharmacopoia," and "Ratio." The right side features mythical figures such as "Vir," "Prudes," and "Finis Vitæ." This side includes a mythical creature, a somber figure in a chariot, a figure labeled "Saturnus," and an armored knight labeled "Mars."
National Gallery of Art · Drawing
"Do Not Turn Back When You Arrive at the End" [fol. 26 verso / 27 recto]
French early 16th Century
- Date
- 1512/1514
- Medium
- pen and brown ink with watercolor on two joined sheets of laid paper
- Dimensions
- overall: 16.4 x 21.7 cm (6 7/16 x 8 9/16 in.)
- Classification
- Drawing
- Accession number
- 2006.11.55
- Credit line
- Woodner Collection, Gift of Andrea Woodner
- Time span
- 1501 to 1550
- Department
- CG-E
Portfolio and series
- Series
- Speculum principis (Mirror for Princes)
Subjects and terms
- French
- Philosophy
- animal
- Building
- Figures
- Writing
- Coffins
Provenance
(Sale, London, Sotheby's, 13 July 1937, lot 64); (sale, London, Sotheby's, 15-17 November 1937, lot 546); (sale, London, Maggs Bros., Ltd., catalogue 709, 1941, no. 30); (purchased by William H. Schab Gallery via Paul Graupe); purchased by Ian Woodner, New York, by 1973; by inheritance to his daughters, Andrea and Dian Woodner, New York, 1990.
Inscription
Inscribed in pen and brown ink on the house at upper left: Domus Hominis Prudentis..; the figures standing at left labeled: Cupiditas Vite, Medicus, and Pharmacopehela; the woman with a spear at center labeled: Ratio; inscribed in the wheels on the cart on which she stands; Vir and Prudens; on the chariot at upper right: Saturnus; on the coffin-shaped cart at right center: Finis Vite; and on the chariot at lower right: Mars
NGA object ID 86060. 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.