Spring, from a set of ornamental designs with allegories of the seasons and grotesques
Engraving, part of a group of four ornamental designs with grotesque motifs, from a series of six designs with allegorical representations of the seasons, created by Marc Duval. The design consists of two winged, nude female figures, standing on a grotesque mask and reclining on scrolling motifs that flank it, holding branches with scrolling acanthus leaves and bundles of fruits. From the scrolls of the branches emerge two male terms, each placing a bundle of flowers and leaves on a basket, from which hangs a bell and a wreath of leaves. Flanking the scrolls on which the female figures recline are two grotesque heads with ram horns, holding a garland of fruits and laves with their mouths, which surrounds the mask on the bottom of the design. The inscription on the print alludes to spring, a theme that is consistent with both the fertility symbolized by the naked women and the fruits and flowers around them.
Artwork Details
- Title: Spring, from a set of ornamental designs with allegories of the seasons and grotesques
- Artist: Marc Duval (French, Le Mans ca. 1530–1581 Paris)
- Artist: After (?) René Boyvin (French, Angers ca. 1525–1598 or 1625/6 Angers)
- Date: ca. 1550–81
- Medium: Engraving: second state
- Dimensions: Sheet: 7 5/16 × 5 13/16 in. (18.5 × 14.7 cm)
- Classifications: Prints, Ornament & Architecture
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
- Object Number: 41.24.2
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Marc Duval
René Boyvin
ca. 1550–81
Marc Duval
René Boyvin
ca. 1550–81
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1550–81
Martin Schongauer
ca. 1475–80
Albrecht Dürer
1504
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