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Original fileApelles van Genève als kluizenaar
About This Work
A bearded, barefoot man sits in the shade of a large tree, focused intensely on an open book. To his right is a rustic hermitage consisting of a small chapel and a functional forge where an anvil and fire are visible. The scene is set in a rugged landscape with wooded hills and distant church spires, illustrating the hermit's life of solitary devotion and manual labor.
This work is part of the 'Sylvae Sacrae' series, which influenced the late Renaissance concept of the 'theatre of the world' and the balance between the active and contemplative lives. The image of the hermit-blacksmith provides a visual parallel to the tempering of the soul through prayer and physical work, a theme that resonated with the period's moral and proto-alchemical philosophy.
Inscriptions
Moribus, atq; animi pietate insignis APELLES, Aetherio doctus sacra litare patri, Coenobijs, ferrum fabrili haud inscius arte Cudere, sollicita profuit usq; manu. 17 Sadeler excu.
Translation
Distinguished for his character and the piety of his soul, APELLES, Taught to offer sacred rites to the celestial Father, In monasteries, not unskilled in the blacksmith's art, Did ever labor with a solicitous hand to forge iron. 17 Sadeler excudit.
Connected Texts
Sylvae Sacrae
This print is part of a seminal series of engravings depicting hermits that codified the iconography of the solitary spiritual life in the late 16th century.
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Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 169 mm x width 198 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.