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Labor

Raphael Sadeler I Netherlandish
After Maerten de Vos Netherlandish
1591
Not on view
Love, labor, honor, and pain: these are the four stages of human life according to many early modern artists, including Sadeler. In this image of labor, Minerva, goddess of crafts, commerce, and the arts (as well as wisdom), appears above a muscular young man who seems to have been interrupted in the act of measurement. He gazes at a building under construction, with a compass in his left hand, a large architectural treatise in his right, and various instruments of the liberal arts at his feet. In the distance are industrious scenes of men and women engaged in harvesting and weaving. Labor is understood here to encompass not only the virtues of physical activity but also the diligence required to produce works of art, mathematics, and science.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Labor
  • Artist: Raphael Sadeler I (Netherlandish, Antwerp 1560–1628 Venice (?))
  • Artist: After Maerten de Vos (Netherlandish, Antwerp 1532–1603 Antwerp)
  • Date: 1591
  • Medium: Engraving and etching
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 1/4 × 10 15/16 in. (23.5 × 27.8 cm)
    Plate: 8 11/16 × 10 1/4 in. (22 × 26 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1944
  • Object Number: 44.62.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
The Lamentation, Raphael Sadeler I Netherlandish, Engraving
The Lamentation
Raphael Sadeler I
After Pompeo dell'Aquila
1598–1632
Pair of Stirrups, Iron, gold, Netherlandish
Pair of Stirrups
Netherlandish
first half 17th century
Reclining Female Nude, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching, drypoint, and engraving on Japanese paper; second of six states
Reclining Female Nude
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1658
Saint Francis kneeling with his arms outstretched, looking towards a cherub at upper left, Raphael Sadeler I Netherlandish, Engraving
Saint Francis kneeling with his arms outstretched, looking towards a cherub at upper left
Raphael Sadeler I
After Felice Brusasorci
1599
Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense), Steel, gold, leather, Dutch
Shaffron (Horse's Head Defense)
Dutch
ca. 1620

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