Public domain
Jug with lid
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
On this ewer everything is in motion. Animal and human forms emerge from a viscous mass. It is possible that it represents the primordial soup (prima matera) from which life arose according to alchemists. On the inside are two crawling salamanders or lizards: animals that were also thought to originate from non-living matter. Does the ewer establish a link between the creative power of the artist and that of nature?
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineKan met deksel. 1614. Adam van Vianen (I). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
