elaborately-dressed couple, with man at left wearing sleeves and breastplate of armor, with a long sword at his hip and carrying a handled pot on a long staff over his PR shoulder; woman at right carries a tiny lion-faced dog (or monkey?) in the crook of her PL arm, with a rooster on the bundle on her upper back and two dead birds tied to her belt; woman carries turnips in a small apron pouch on her abdomen; landscape in background with burning buildings in ULC, figure attacking another with a sword, man chasing a flock of geese with a sword and a reaper; text at bottom below image

Choleric, 1590s

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Engravingexpand_more

Gift of funds from Barbara S. Longfellowexpand_more  2015.51.3

Not on Viewexpand_more

This fearsome mercenary and the well-supplied sutler stand for the choleric temperament, the personality trait that is bilious—quick to anger—due to an excess of yellow bile. As the burning building suggests, the soldier has a fiery temper.

This plate belongs to a series of four engravings designed by Maarten de Vos, the most important painter in late 16th-century Antwerp, and executed by the highly skilled Flemish engraver Pieter d Jode I.

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Details
Title
Choleric
Artist Life
1570–1634
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2015.51.3
Provenance
Possibly Gaston de Ramaix (Belgium, 1878-1937, see Lugt 4099). Probably Henri Godts, Brussels, March 14, 2014, lot 46; [Nicolaas Teeuwisse, Berlin, cat. XV, p. 18-21, no. 6, illus.]
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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elaborately-dressed couple, with man at left wearing sleeves and breastplate of armor, with a long sword at his hip and carrying a handled pot on a long staff over his PR shoulder; woman at right carries a tiny lion-faced dog (or monkey?) in the crook of her PL arm, with a rooster on the bundle on her upper back and two dead birds tied to her belt; woman carries turnips in a small apron pouch on her abdomen; landscape in background with burning buildings in ULC, figure attacking another with a sword, man chasing a flock of geese with a sword and a reaper; text at bottom below image