The times of the day Evening, a banquet PK-P-110.474, BN 417

The scene depicts a group of courtiers at a candlelit table, where a servant pours wine and a couple shares an intimate embrace. On the left, a musician provides entertainment on a lute, while a secondary mythological scene in the upper right shows the goddess Diana reclining in a starry sky above a landscape. This engraving is part of a series illustrating the four times of the day, characterized by the elongated forms and dynamic compositions of the Haarlem Mannerists.

This work connects the rhythms of human life to the macrocosmic influence of celestial bodies, specifically Hesperus (the evening star) and the moon. In the astrological and natural philosophical traditions of the Renaissance, 'Evening' represents a transition where planetary influences are thought to 'gladden the mind' and provide relief from the labors of the day.