Avarice

published 1558

Pieter van der Heyden

Associated Names
Pieter van der Heyden
Artist, Netherlandish, active c. 1551/1572
Hieronymus Cock
Publisher, Netherlandish, 1518 - 1570
Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Artist After, Netherlandish, c. 1525/1530 - 1569
The artwork is an intricate, monochromatic engraving depicting a chaotic scene filled with figures engaged in various activities. At the center is a seated female figure under a makeshift shelter, surrounded by various objects and figures, including a person collecting coins. To the left, a group of people are clustered around, in a frenzy to grab coins that are scattered on the ground. In the background, fantastical structures with exaggerated forms and figures are visible. The scene is rich in detail, with each character and object meticulously rendered.

Media Options

This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    plate: 22.5 × 29.5 cm (8 7/8 × 11 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 28.5 × 37.6 cm (11 1/4 × 14 13/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1964.8.426

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 25, State only

  • Series Title

    The Seven Deadly Sins

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1965

  • Drolleries and Demons: Six Centuries of 'Fantastic' Prints, IBM Gallery, New York, NY, 1965, no. 21.

Bibliography

1908

  • Bastelaer, Rene van. Les estampes de Peter Bruegel l'ancien. Brussels: G. van Oest et Cie, 1908.

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Pieter Bruegel, Nadine Orenstein author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 25, state only.

Inscriptions

bottom center, in image, in plate: AVARITIA; lower left, in image, in plate: .P. brueghel. Inuentor.; lower left center, in image, in plate: Cock. excud. cum privileg. 1558; lower center, in image, in plate: PAME [artist's monogram]; in lower margin, in plate: QVIS METVS, AVT PVDOR EST VNQVAM PROPERANTIS AVARI? (Does the greedy miser ever possess fear or shame?) / Eere, beleeftheyt, scaemte, noch godlyck vermaen / En siet die scrapende ghierichheyt niet aen (Scraping Avarice sees neither honor nor courtesy, shame nor divine admonition) [translations from Nadine Orenstein, ed., Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, p. 147.]

Wikidata ID

Q65511676

You may be interested in

You may be interested in