False conviction estranges the world from the truth
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
A man with a fool's cap is the personification Foolish World (Mundus Fascinatus). He is bewitched by False Opinion (Opinio), a woman with two glasses on her forehead. She reads magic formulas from a book. Around Foolish World a magic circle is drawn with the symbols of the seven planets, as well as a holy water sprinkler, a convex mirror and a burning candle. The personification Truth (Veritas) tries to help Foolish World, but is attacked by the bewitched Foolish World with a sword. In the background Justice throws herself down from a rock. The print has a Latin and a Dutch inscription and is part of a four-part series on the subject of how false opinion brings the world to ruin.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description