Allegory on death and the transience of life
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
Inside a round tent, a putto blows bubbles ('homo bulla' - 'Man is a soap bubble' - is written on the rim of the niche where he sits), flanked by an emperor and a peasant. Above the putto is a depiction of the Last Judgment. Top left: a cartouche with a round depiction of the Fall of Man; top right: a cartouche with a round depiction of the Crucifixion. In the foreground lie two corpses (the emperor and the peasant, as indicated by the broken crown far left front and the damaged spade far right front). Left foreground: a vase with flowers; right: a vase from which smoke rises and a broken hourglass. Accompanied by explanatory texts referring to death (which makes no distinction between social classes) and the transience of human life. With a Latin inscription in the form of four quatrains.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own description