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Original fileFabel van de eland en de mens
About This Work
A large elk is depicted in profile, showcasing its distinctive palmate antlers and heavy build. To the right, a man wearing a feathered hat and a patterned doublet stands with his back partly turned, observing the creature. The background features a detailed landscape with a dense forest and a distant city located along a river valley.
Created by Aegidius Sadeler, the Imperial Engraver to Rudolf II, this print reflects the Prague court's fascination with natural history and moralizing animal fables. These fables served as a bridge between the study of nature (natural philosophy) and moral emblems, intended to reveal ethical truths through the observation of the animal kingdom.
Connected Texts
Marcus Gheeraerts the Elder
Sadeler's fable series is based on the 1567 collection 'De warachtige fabulen der dieren' by Gheeraerts.
Rudolf II
As court engraver, Sadeler produced these works within the intellectual circle of the Holy Roman Emperor, where the collection of rare animals was a pursuit of universal knowledge.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 96 mm x width 112 mm
emblem
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.