Hieronymus Wierix: The fall of man (1578)

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)

An engraving by the Flemish artist Hieronymus Wierix (1553-1619). This print is part of a set called "The fall and salvation of humanity". This one shows the fall of man. On the left the Worldly Man (Mundanus Homo) is falling with a filled table through a trapdoor. The devil (in the middle) is ready to catch man in his nets. A naked woman (sin / Peccatum) is holding the falling man to strike him with her arrow. On the right death is aiming his arrow to the falling man but Divine Grace (Gratia) is holding Death back. On the right Arrogance (Arrogantia), Ambition (Ambitio) and Violence (Violentia) are fighting for the earthly resources that have fallen from Vanitas' bed through the hole in the floor. Engraving from 1578.