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About This Work
This engraving depicts an idyllic, early state of humanity associated with childhood and the dawn of life. Various figures representing virtues like Lætitia (Joy), Securitas (Security), Pax (Peace), Innocentia (Innocence), and Castitas (Chastity) are shown interacting with children and animals in a harmonious, lush landscape. The composition includes figures mounted on horses or riding in a chariot, emphasizing a sense of playful order and peaceful natural existence.
The print reflects the Renaissance preoccupation with cyclical time and the 'Four Ages' of human life, a theme rooted in Ovidian cosmology and classical philosophy. It frames childhood as a return to an uncorrupted, pre-legal state of nature, drawing upon the pastoral idealism prevalent in early modern European thought.
Inscriptions(Latin)
LAETITIA SECURIT PAX INNOCENTIA CASTITAS AURORA Lurorse fimilis cum fit primaua iuuentus Etati merito prime (que vindice nullo I Sponte fua fine lege fidem, Rectumq colebat Par erit, effe dedit quibus O Natura beatos
Translation
Like the dawn is youth in its first stage, Rightly the first age (which, with no judge, Sponte fua sine lege fidem, Rectumq colebat [Maintained faith and right of its own accord without law] Par erit, esse dedit quibus O Natura beatos [O Nature, it will be equal, to whom you gave to be blessed]
Connected Texts
Ovid
The print is a visual iteration of the Four Ages of Man, a mythic cycle famously outlined in Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'.
Provenance & Source
Object
Engraving
allegory
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 14, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.