Aegidius Sadeler II: Allegorical portrait of Bartholomeus Spranger with his Wife, Christina Muller (1600)

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA)

An engraving by the Flemish artist Aegidius Sadeler II (1570-1629). This print is a memorial, dedicated to the recently deceased Christina Müller (1565/66-1600), former wife of the colleague Flemish artist Bartholomeus Spranger (1546-1611). Both are depicted: Christina is on the right, Bartholomeus is on the left. The couple is surrounded by all sorts of allegorial personifications  such as Fame (woman with wings and trumpets), Time (winged old man with a zeis and hourglass), Faith (woman with bible and cross), the art of painting (woman with palet, pensils and paintingstick); the goddess Minerva. Bartholomeus Spranger and Aegidius Sadeler II were active at the court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (reign 1576-1612) in Prague and were working very closely with eachother. Engraving from 1600.