Allegory of Transience
Allegory of Transience
Allegory of Transience
By Hendrick Gerritsz Pot
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Allegory of Transience
Allegory of Transience
Allegory of Transience
A woman stands amid her valuable possessions holding a letter. The box bed, the dog, and the upturned lute indicate that this depiction concerns love. A man’s hat and jacket lie on a chair to the right. Using her seductive gaze, the woman invites us to enter her world of vice. She does not see the old woman behind her holding a skull and a wilted flower. She stands for the transience of youth, earthly beauty and wealth. Pot probably based his painting on a print by Jacob de Gheyn, with the text: ‘Gold, stone, wealth, and all costly vessels, when Death comes, what use will they be?’