Maarten van Heemskerck: Man Protected by the Shield of Faith (1559)

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA)

An allegorical drawing from the Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck (1498-1574). Satan, sitting on a globe and a rug decorated with the seven deadly sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride), is hurling burning arrows at a praying man. The praying man himself is protected by a woman with a shield (she is the personification of faith). Drawing from 1559.