The Wisdom of Fools

c. 1592

Workshop of Hendrick Goltzius, after Karel van Mander I

Associated Names
Hendrick Goltzius

Related Artist, Dutch, 1558 - 1617

Karel van Mander I

Artist After, Netherlandish, 1548 - 1606

The image displays four individuals seated together, with only their upper bodies primarily visible. The figures are grouped closely, with two people leaning forward while another sits back slightly, appearing engaged with the rest. The individual in the center right is wearing a headpiece and glasses, and his facial features are exaggerated with a prominent nose and open mouth. Next to him, another person wears a similar headcover and is leaning in, grasping a stick or small animal. A third figure appears to be cradling a child-like figure at the center of the group. The fourth figure on the left holds an owl. All are dressed in historical or fantastical garments with draped fabric and some ornamental headwear. In the background, there are trees with dense foliage, alongside what appears to be a body of water.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving and letterpress on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    plate: 24.5 x 17.2 cm (9 5/8 x 6 3/4 in.)
    sheet: 34.6 x 27.3 cm (13 5/8 x 10 3/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2004.2.4

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 98, State i/iii

Associated Artworks

See all 6 artworks
The image shows three figures: one standing and two sitting. The standing figure is leaning forward with a walking stick, wearing a hooded garment. The two seated figures are interacting closely on a bench. The man on the left has curly hair and a wide-brimmed hat, while the man on the right wears a cap and holds a spherical object. In the background, there are trees and a thatched-roof building, suggesting a rural setting. The image is framed by a border with Latin text and a stamp at the bottom.

Do Not Spend Your Savings Too Soon

1590

Six Proverbs

1590

The image shows several figures dressed in detailed period clothing. One central seated figure holds a small chest or box and wears a ruffled collar, an elaborate hairstyle, and a hat. Surrounding this figure are others also dressed in historical clothing, with feathered hats, cloaks, and puffed sleeves. A cherub-like figure stands on the right holding a staff or rod. The background features a patterned floor, a brick wall, wooden beams, and scales. In the foreground, there are objects like scales and cylindrical items on the ground.

The Scales of Marriage

1590

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Château de la Roche-Guyon, France (part of an album)1; (Paul Prouté S.A., Paris); purchased by NGA, 2003.
1 The album was bound in vellum, with "Abraham" on the cover and "Ligeoys" on the back cover. The Château de la Roche-Guyon stamp was on some of the pages, which included a variety of northern mannerist prints by Goltzius, Matham, Saenredam, and others. It was apparently dismantled by Prouté for sale of some of the prints to the NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1949

  • Hollstein, F.W.H. et al. German engravings, etchings and woodcuts ca. 1400-1700. 8 vols. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberger, 1954-1868. Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700. Vols. I-XV, XVIII, XIX. Amsterdam: Menno Hertzberge

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Karel van Mander, Marjolein Leesberg, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 98, state i/iii.

Inscriptions

lower left, in image, in plate: 4; below image, in plate: Cuiq[ue] suum pulchrum est, et gaudet Simia prole / L[a]eta sua, gaudet quantum haud Erycina puello / Diua pharetrato, nec formosissimus ore / Arrisit roseo matri inter basia Nireus. / Ad sua c[a]ecutit iam quisq[ue], est noctua falco, / Falco suo domino, qui non discernit ab atris / Candida, sed stupida ruit in deliria mente / Quicquid amatq[ue] probat, nulloq[ue] examine pensat. (In everyone's eyes one's own progeny is beautiful and the she-ape is very happy with her offspring, happier even than the goddess of Eryx [Venus] with her little arrow-bearing boy, and also the ravishing Nireus with a smile on his lips was not considered all that beautiful by his mother when he kissed her. Everyone is blind to his own offspring, the owl is a falcon, a falcon to his master who cannot distinguish white from black, but in his stupidity rushes toward insanity and approves everything he loves without subjecting it to scrutiny.); below plate, in letterpress: Dat elck Sotken prysen zijn Marotken wil, / Maect dicwils geschil, want selfs menich schalck,, niet / En bevroedt, dat men door den affecti bril, / Al graeu voor blaeu, ja zijn Vyl voor een Valck,, siet. (The crow doth think her Birds the fair'st to bee, / Soe Men that look through fond affections glass / Take owles for hawks, and white for black they see, / Where fools must judge soe things will come to pass.)
[translations by Jan Bloemendal in The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Karel van Mander, Marjolein Leesberg, author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1999, no. 98, p. lxxvi.]

Watermarks

Briquet 9324

Wikidata ID

Q76360451

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