Crispijn I De Passe (1564-1637) - Dama in abiti sontuosi con mappamondo

Rare allegorical engraving by Crispijn de Passe the Elder, from the series of 33 Hortus voluptatum, prototype of the 'Garden of Love' of the Dutch Golden Age, a series that, under the apparent celebration of pleasure and the courteous mores of the era, often hides moral admonitions about the futility of earthly goods and the transience of youth, symbolized by elements such as children blowing soap bubbles or jesters. Exemplar trimmed to the frame, on laid paper, in good condition, only a small reddish stain and a restored tear at the top center (see photo). Unsigned, below the image there is a Latin two-line inscription on two columns 'Nam quid...//...cito praetereunt.' In the foreground a seated lady holding a globe looks at herself in a mirror, a symbol of vanity; to the right three children blowing soap bubbles; two others to the left wearing jester hats; in the background a landscape. Hollstein, Dutch & Flemish 851 nr.22; Franken, 1337 nr.22.

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