The title-print for which this indented design, blackened on the verso for transfer, has not been identified. The banderol and cartouche, intended for text, are both empty. The subject-matter must be law-related, since in the background, a judge is depicted seated on his chair, accompanied to his left by Justitia. Flanking the scene in the foreground are allegorical figures of Minerva (left) and a Divine Justice or Veritas (right). The figure on the right is holding a flaming sword in her right hand and a book in her left hand, with flames surrounding her head; no such figure is described in C. Ripa, Iconologia, of uytbeeldingen des Verstands (…) uyt het Italiaens vertaelt door D.P. Pers (trans. D.P. Pers), Amsterdam 1644 (orig. ed. 1603), with ‘Giustitia Divina’ coming the closest, while ‘Veritas’ is often paired with Justitia and shown holding a sun in her right hand and a book in her left hand. Between and beneath these flanking figures, some Olympic Gods are huddled around Caritas, holding a burning heart in her hand. On her right, Juno is seen with her peacock; at her feet, Cupid, his eyes blindfolded, is stepping on his quiver of arrows. To the right, Bacchus is seated next to a barrel. On top of the composition, Apollo and the Muses are gathered, making music.
The hand of Jan de Bray, with whom the drawing was associated when it was bought, was rightly rejected by Giltaij. The design could have been the work of one of the artists working for printmakers in Haarlem, Amsterdam or The Hague.
Annemarie Stefes, 2019
