Allegory of Winter – Jan Saenredam after Hendrick Goltzius, 1601

Allegory of Winter, engraving executed in 1601 as part of a series of the Four Seasons, engraved by Jan Saenredam after a design by Hendrick Goltzius. Size: 20.6 × 15.7 cm.

In this allegory, winter appears as an elegant couple skating hand in hand on the ice. Their rich fabrics and layered garments emphasize not only the cold of the season but also prosperity and civility: this winter pastime is a privilege grounded in reserves and security.

The movement is restrained, appropriate to the slipperiness of the ice. In the background, bare trees and another figure on the ice unmistakably signal the season and situate the scene within a recognizable winter landscape of the Low Countries.

On the right, the artist introduces an explicit counterpoint. A skinny, predatory animal—more likely a wolf than a domestic dog—has sunk its teeth into a lamb or sheep, a classical symbol of vulnerability and innocence. This violent detail evokes winter as a time of scarcity, when hunger and hardship sharpen the natural order and the law of the strongest becomes visible.

In the foreground, a small lapdog, presumably belonging to the skating couple, leaps forward. The animal is not rendered casually: it has turned its head toward the wolf and the lamb, as if it has noticed the danger. Winter is thus presented not only as a season of elegant recreation, but also as a period in which abundance and threat, civility and survival, coexist inextricably.

In this impression, the two lines of text beneath the image are lacking.

Price: Euro 525,- (incl. frame)