The Dance Around the World, ca. 1600

The Dance Around the World, ca. 1600. In the center, the richly dressed Lady World, with a globe on her head and a soap bubble in her hand; at her feet a bale of hay with a crown, indicated as Vanitas. Under her mantle, a jester with a mask in his hand. Six men (including an acrobat and a priest) dance around the woman in a circle, personifying foolish worldly traits. In the upper left, a musician plays a flute. Symbols of Temperance and God's laws lie carelessly on the floor in the front left. With an inscription of three verses of nine lines each in Dutch, Latin, and French.