Mars, from a suite of ornament designs with grotesques, allegories and deities

Engraving, part of a series of six oval plates with ornament designs executed on black grounds with grotesque motifs, allegories, and divinities, designed by Étienne Delaune before 1573 (possibly during the 1550s). This print represents Mars, standing with his back towards the viewer, under a kind of canopy, turning his head to the right. His arms are extended to the sides, his hands holding two branches of laurel, attributes of victors. This symbolism of victory is reinforced by the presence of two falcons, as well as two ivy stems which flank two cornucopias and stand, undulating, at the sides of the god, symbolizing glory. The cornucopias, usual attributes of Venus and Cupid, as well as the cupid head on the lower part of the oval, might be alluding to the love of Mars and Venus. The two urns placed on either side of Mars might be symbols of vanity, while the two extinct lamps might represent ignorance, especially when compared with the prints by Delaune in which lit lamps (with scrolls of smoke escaping them) are presented in relation to knowledge. It seems as if this figure of Mars is intended to present an opposite to the representation of Apollo, guardian of arts and virtue, in the same series.