Allegorie op de koophandel met vier putti c. 1705 - 1754

Jacob de Wit created this drawing, Allegory on Trade with Four Putti, using pen and brown ink, with brush and gray wash. The sepia palette lends the scene an antique feel, appropriate for its classical subject. These chubby putti, or cherubs, are shown amidst the instruments of global commerce. One holds a caduceus, or herald’s staff, another plays with what appears to be a ledger, and around them we see tools of measurement, likely for gauging goods for sale. De Wit was a specialist in decorative painting, and his fluid, confident line is well suited to this kind of preparatory sketch. The subject matter is also telling. This was the Golden Age of Dutch trade, of course. But we should remember that this wealth was built on a global economy of extraction, which entailed, among other things, the enslavement of human beings. The drawing’s virtuosity might be seen as an attempt to aestheticize this reality, even to normalize it. It serves as a reminder that fine art and commerce have always been intertwined.