Arkivism
Allegory on Selfishness
Public domain

Allegory on Selfishness

Pieter van der Heyden · 1556 - 1560 · engraving; paper

From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.

About this work

A man with spectacles on his nose and a lantern in his hand searches among all sorts of items. On the ground lie, among other things, merchandise, a chess and checkers game, dice, and a card game. Other men are also searching. On the left, two men pull on the same piece of cloth. Depiction of the idea that everyone is focused on himself and seeks his own interest. In the middle below the image, a four-line verse in Dutch, and below the image, a four-line inscription in Latin.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Credit lineAllegorie op de zelfzucht. 1556 - 1560. Pieter van der Heyden. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.

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