Public domain
Beaker
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
While this late masterpiece by Adam van Vianen no longer has actual auricular ornament, it embodies the ambiguity so characteristic of the kwab style. A female water creature looks into the enormous shell, which is borne by two wrestling mermen. The cup appears to be in motion, the proportions defy logic and the creatures dissolve into the shell.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineBeker. 1625. Adam van Vianen (I). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.