Print in black ink of five nude people in an outdoor rural setting. An older woman with a wrinkled face and sagging breasts faces the viewer at center, her gaze cast downward. She is flanked by two younger couples: one on the left in a seated embrace and another on the right in a standing embrace. A cupid at bottom left looks on.

Allegory of Envy

c. 1505

Cristofano Robetta Italian, 1462-c. 1535

Italy

Flanked by younger couples entwined in erotic poses, an unaccompanied older woman appears to scowl. It is unclear whether the central figure, traditionally identified with envy, is the one experiencing the feeling or merely a visual symbol of it. Secular allegorical subjects were popular with Renaissance printmakers, especially in Italy. In this case, the Florentine engraver Cristofano Robetta copied German prints by Albrecht Dürer for the landscape in the background.

Engraving on paper

Prints and Drawings