Arkivism
Warning Against Adultery and Venereal Disease
Public domain

Warning Against Adultery and Venereal Disease

Johann Sadeler (I) · 1588 - 1595 · engraving; paper

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

About this work

Landscape with a fountain on the left featuring a statue of Venus and Cupido. Water flows from the breasts of Venus. The fountain is the source of a stream, in which a dog urinates in the foreground. A scholar stands beside the spring and points to it. Despite his warning, a shepherd drinks from the stream. In the left foreground an adulterous woman with horns on her head. She plays the lute and is probably the personification of Lust. The print has a Latin inscription with warnings against adulterous women from the Book of Proverbs and the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description
Credit lineWaarschuwing tegen overspel en geslachtsziekte. 1588 - 1595. Johann Sadeler (I). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.

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