Allegorische voorstelling van het werk en de vlijt

A muscular, bearded man representing Labor sits on the ground while a woman representing Diligentia embraces and kisses him. The man leans on a staff, and various tools, including a shovel and a mallet, lie on the ground before them. Diligentia holds a rod with a sun-like emblem at its tip, suggesting that productive effort is guided by intellectual or divine illumination.

This engraving reflects the early modern humanist valuation of industriousness as a virtuous and transformative pursuit, a concept often integrated into alchemical discourses where the 'Great Work' requires the union of physical exertion (Labor) and careful, methodical application (Diligentia).