Ianvarivs

A detailed print showing various winter activities: in the foreground, men fell trees and load logs onto horse-drawn wagons, while the background reveals a snow-covered village where people skate on a frozen river. Bare, gnarled trees dominate the composition, and a small medallion in the upper right corner contains the zodiac sign of Capricorn. The scene captures the transition between the harshness of winter and the necessary human labor to prepare for the coming months.

As part of a 'Months of the Year' series produced at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, this work reflects the Renaissance interest in the 'Book of Nature' and the correspondence between the celestial macrocosm (the zodiac) and the terrestrial microcosm (human labor). Aegidius Sadeler and designer Pieter Stevens were key figures in the Rudolphine circle, where landscapes were often viewed as meditations on the divine order and the cycles of time.