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Jan van de Velde II

The Sorceress, 1626

Description

Maker

  • Jan van de Velde II, ca. 1593-1641, Dutch

Title

The Sorceress

Year

1626

Medium

Engraving

Materials/Techniques

Supports

  • Light weight cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 21.3 x 28.6 cm (8 3/8 x 11 1/4 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

In Plate--signed and dated in LR:Jan V. Velde. fecit.1626.; Six line Latin inscription in LC:Quantum malorum clausa nullo limite... (see print)

Identification

State

ii/iii

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

53.317

Projects & Publications

Publications

Manual / Issue 7

Alchemy
Read Online

The Brilliant Line

Following the Early Modern Engraver, 1480-1650
Read Online

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

The Brilliant Line

September 18, 2009 - January 3, 2010

This “black” print reflects the market for prints with dramatic, flickering illuminations similar to effects in paintings of the period. Where some of Jan van de Velde’s contemporaries may have utilized etching and engraving together with plate tone to achieve darker tonalities, Van de Velde used engraving alone. His effects are achieved by approaching the plate systematically, using few dots, and densely layering fine and exceptionally long lines in parallel and crossed courses. This extremely laborious process was hard won and rarely attempted by others.

This sinister scene depicts a young, nubile witch in classical garb preparing a nasty brew for her Sabbath, surrounded by her “familiars,” beasts of every conceivable concoction, including a goat, the traditional symbol of lust. Some of the symbols—such as the cards, die, and tobacco in the foreground—would be more common to a vanitas image, serving to warn that life is fleeting and that temporal pleasures should be avoided. The verses further attest to this mixed meaning by condemning the evil effects of lust on the minds of mortals and the triumph of death over all humankind.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is The Sorceress with the accession number of 53.317. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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