Ægteskab forrettet af Djævlen og funderet på rigdom 1595

Jan Saenredam made this engraving, "Marriage performed by the Devil and founded on wealth," sometime around the turn of the 17th century. Look closely, and you can see how the fine lines of the engraving create a scene of moralizing satire. Here we see an elaborately dressed couple joined by the Devil himself. Observe the texture of the fabrics, the ruffs, the heavy jewelry – all rendered through the skillful manipulation of line. Saenredam was a master printmaker, part of a robust industry in the Netherlands at this time. Prints were a key means of circulating images and ideas, and Saenredam’s technical skill would have been highly valued. But consider also the social context: the image speaks to anxieties about the rising merchant class and their pursuit of wealth, even at the expense of morality. The labor invested in this print, therefore, serves not just an aesthetic purpose, but also a critical one, questioning the very values of a society increasingly driven by commerce.