New photography by Shannon Ruff captured with a digital camera-2008.

Allegory of the Hope for Gain

Artist Willem van Swanenburgh (Dutch, 1581-1616)

ArtistAfter Maerten van Heemskerck (Netherlandish, 1498 - 1574)

Dateca. 1610

MediumEngravings on laid paper

Dimensions8 3/4 x 6 1/2 in. (22.2 x 16.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 30 × 25 5/8 in. (76.2 × 65.1 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number97.43

Terms

Allegory
Men
Women
Religion
soul
Cupid
Devil
Death
Hope

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is a set of four engravings, each approx. 8 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches. The set of four prints chart the unfortunate progress of a man - actually Everyman - who has been foolishly blinded by his desires for the things of this world. As a result, he neglects his spiritual duties, investing all his hope in material things, and is ultimately and enevitabley betrayed by death and the devil. PRINT NO.1...the man's soul is corrupted by the devil, who paints vain and alluring images of power, riches and lust on a human heart, while a young woman binds his ankle with rope, shackling him to the devil's work. (The text beneath the print explains that the devil fills man's heart with worthless things, and in this way Desire - the woman - secretly gets man in her power.) PRINT NO.2...Desire (now represented by a blindfolded Cupid) pulls man along by the rope, urging him to climb the cliff of ambition and win the worldly prizes beyond (money bags, a king's crown, etc.) (The accompanying text says the essentially the same thing.) PRINT NO.3...the man's misguided hope for material gain is literally represented as a statue of Hope with her anchor, which the man and the devil work to place atop the pile of money and other treasures he has amassed with the devil's help. (The text suggest that once man has acquired money and wealth, he begins to place his hope upon it.) The print literally represents that truism. PRINT NO.4... the tragic results of the man's misspent life are made clear as Death, rushing through the door, frightens him into releasing the statue as the sack of money topples over. The broken hourglass at the lower right symbolizes that time has run out for the man and his soul. (the text states that as death approches the man, his betrayed by his vain hope.) In each print the man grows successively older. Thus Swanenburgh conflates theidea of the vain search for worldly goods with the four ages of man.

Label TextWillem van Swanenburgh Netherlandish, 1581–1616 after Maerten van Heemskerck Netherlandish, 1498–1574 Allegory of the Hope for Gain, ca. 1610 Engravings (prints) on laid paper Print series were ideal for teaching moral lessons because they could unfold step by step. These four engravings chart the unfortunate events that befall a man whose desire for worldly things leads him into the hands of Death and the Devil. A visual sermon about spiritual ruin, Willem van Swanenburgh’s prints put abstract ideas in simple visual terms with captions that put the message beyond doubt. The story begins in the first print, where the Devil paints alluring images on a human heart and a young woman (symbolizing desire) binds the man’s ankle with rope. In the second print, desire (now represented by a blindfolded cupid) pulls the man along by a rope, urging him to climb the “cliff of ambition” to win the money and crown placed at the top. In the third print, the man’s misguided desire for wealth is conveyed as he and the Devil struggle to place a statue representing hope atop the money and other treasures he has amassed. The final print describes the tragic results of the man’s misspent life. Death rushes through the door, frightening the man, who releases the statue as his sack of money topples over. The broken hourglass at the lower right makes the message doubly clear: his time has run out. Museum purchase 97.43