Frontispiece Design for Jacob Cats, Self-Strijt

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1619

As the illustrator of the works of Jacob Cats, Adriaen van de Venne contributed enormously to the popularity of emblem books. They contained wisdom regarding all manner of moral issues in the form of poems and fitting allegorical illustrations. In Self-Strijt the internal struggle between good and evil thoughts is illustrated through Joseph. The wife of Potiphar tries to seduce him, in vain, into adultery.

Artwork typedrawing, design
Object numberRP-T-1919-62
Dimensionsheight 178 mm x width 147 mm
Physical characteristicspen and brown ink, with grey wash and traces of opaque watercolour (?); outlines indented for transfer; framing line in brown ink

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more by Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne

Fishing for Souls

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1614

Winter

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1625

The Departure of a Dignitary from Middelburg

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1615

The Departure of a Dignitary from Middelburg

Princes Maurice and Frederick Henry at the Valkenburg Horse Fair

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, 1618

Princes Maurice and Frederick Henry at the Valkenburg Horse Fair

Shrove Tuesday in the Country

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, c. 1625

View of a Richly Appointed Chamber with a Four-poster Bed

Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, c. 1625 - c. 1662

View of a Richly Appointed Chamber with a Four-poster Bed

Identification

Title(s)
- Frontispiece Design for Jacob Cats, Self-Strijt
- Design for a Title-page: Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
Object type
Object number
RP-T-1919-62
Description
Ontwerp voor titelpagina van Self-strijt, dat is Crachtighe beweginghe van Vlees en Gheest... . Jozef staande in een interieur; links op de achtergrond rukt Jozef zich los van de vrouw van Potifar.
Part of catalogue

Creation

Creation
draftsman (artist): Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne
Dating
1619
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Material and technique

Physical description
pen and brown ink, with grey wash and traces of opaque watercolour (?); outlines indented for transfer; framing line in brown ink
Dimensions
height 178 mm x width 147 mm

Explanatory note

Ontwerp voor titelpagina van Jacob Cats' 'Self-strijt, dat is Crachtighe beweginghe van Vlees en Gheest (...)' van 1620.

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
Purchased with a contribution from the P. Langerhuizen Bequest
Acquisition
purchase 1919-04-29
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; collection Gérard Leembruggen Jzn (1801-65), The Hague, Lisse and Hillegom;{According to the catalogue of the sale, Ignatius Franciscus Ellinckhuysen, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 19 November 1878 sqq., no. 259.} his sale, Amsterdam (Roos et al.), 5 March 1866 sqq., no. 694, with two other drawings (‘Comme les précédentes. Trois dessins. A l'encre de Chine’), fl. 34, to Ignatius Franciscus Ellinckhuysen (1814-97), Rotterdam;{Copy RKD.} his sale, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 19 November 1878 sqq., no. 259 (‘Joseph et la femme de Putiphar. - Signé et daté: 1619. A la plume et au lavis d'encre de chine. - H. 18, L. 15. - Coll. Leembruggen. […]), fl. 48, to Pieter Langerhuizen Lzn (1839-1918), ‘Crailoo’, near Bussum, The Netherlands;{Copy RKD.} his sale, Amsterdam (F. Muller), 29 April 1919 sqq , no. 813, fl. 170, to the museum (L. 2228), 1919

Documentation

Anne Lenders, 'Short notice. The Dog in The Night Watch : Rembrandt Inspired by Adriaen van de Venne', The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 73 (2025) nr. 3, p. 212-223.