Catharina van Hemessen (attr) - Medaillon, Detail - auctionaugur
According to the RKD, the text around the rim says "wensen op sterven doet vreugd derven", i.e. "Wishing to die makes happiness go away".This may be correct, I read the first word as "Wachten" ("waiting") instead of "Wensen" ("wishing"), which seems to me to make more sense: many people spend their life waiting to die, more than wishing to die.
It seems to me to be a Contra-reformation sentiment, against the more Calvinist view of Fatalism: no need to live all your life waiting for your death. Cease the day, carpe diem! No idea if that really was the intention, but it certainly is a nice and unusual step away from the usual vanitas and memento mori paintings you get from the Northern Netherlands.
Source: auctionaugur
auctionaugur.blogspot.com/2017/11/nice-collection-at-gale...
rkd:
rkd.nl/nl/explore/images#filters[kunstenaar]=Hemessen%2C+Catharina+van
Catharina van Hemessen (attr) - Medaillon, Detail - auctionaugur
According to the RKD, the text around the rim says "wensen op sterven doet vreugd derven", i.e. "Wishing to die makes happiness go away".This may be correct, I read the first word as "Wachten" ("waiting") instead of "Wensen" ("wishing"), which seems to me to make more sense: many people spend their life waiting to die, more than wishing to die.
It seems to me to be a Contra-reformation sentiment, against the more Calvinist view of Fatalism: no need to live all your life waiting for your death. Cease the day, carpe diem! No idea if that really was the intention, but it certainly is a nice and unusual step away from the usual vanitas and memento mori paintings you get from the Northern Netherlands.
Source: auctionaugur
auctionaugur.blogspot.com/2017/11/nice-collection-at-gale...
rkd:
rkd.nl/nl/explore/images#filters[kunstenaar]=Hemessen%2C+Catharina+van