The Months: September
Engraving, part of a series of twelve oval prints with allegorical representations of the months with the seasonal labors inherited from the Middle Ages. The activities illustrated in the series do not seem to have a moral sense, and depict relatively simple scenes with characters dressed in simple garbs, executing their labors in rustic landscapes. In this representation of September, a man is walking, planting seeds, in the first plane, with two doves eating the grains to his right, presenting an allegory of charity. In the second plane, on the right, another man labors the soil with the aid of two cows that pull his trolley, and on the left, a woman sits next to a bag of grains. In this scene, Delaune has chosen to represent September with attributes traditionally associated with October, including not only the labors but also the astrological sign that dominates the scene, Scorpio, usually linked with October, instead of Libra, which should be the astrological attribute of September.
Artwork Details
- Title: The Months: September
- Artist: Etienne Delaune (French, Orléans 1518/19–1583 Strasbourg)
- Date: 1568
- Medium: Engraving
- Dimensions: Sheet (trimmed): 2 3/16 × 3 1/16 in. (5.5 × 7.8 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1947
- Object Number: 47.139.25
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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