The Donkey Laden with Food, from Emblematic Figures of Animals
Medium
Engraving on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 27.3 × 20.5 cm (10 3/4 × 8 1/8 in.); Sheet: 27.4 × 20.7 cm (10 13/16 × 8 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
51392
Art Historical Context
Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne'sThe Donkey Laden with*, created in 1633, is a captivating engraving from his series *Emblematic Figures of Animals*. A prominent Dutch artist of the Golden Age, van de Venne specialized in moralistic and satirical works that blended genre scenes with emblematic symbolism. This piece exemplifies the 17th-century Dutch fascination with emblem books—popular illustrated texts pairing images of animals with proverbs or mottos to impart ethical lessons. Here, the overburdened donkey likely evokes themes of gluttony or the folly of excess, drawing from classical fables...
About the Artist
Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne · 1589–1662
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne (1589–1662) was born in Delft to parents who had fled religious strife in the Southern Netherlands; his father, stocking maker Pieter van de Venne from Lier, died before his birth, and his mother, Jannetgen Beuvincx from Tournai, remarried weaver Laurens Wittocx, producing half-brother Salomon Lourens, a coarse painter and bricklayer. He collaborated closely with olde...