Gulzig echtpaar 1593

This engraving, "Gulzig echtpaar" or "Gluttonous Couple," was made by an anonymous artist. It’s a window into the social attitudes towards wealth, class and morality in the Netherlands at a time of growing economic power. The image presents a rather unflattering portrait of a wealthy couple. It's filled with details that would have spoken volumes to viewers of the time: the overflowing table, the woman’s ample figure and the man’s drunken stupor. It hints at the excesses of a rising merchant class and the potential for moral corruption through wealth. The imagery also participates in a visual language that moralized against overindulgence. To truly understand this artwork, we need to delve into the prints and pamphlets, the popular theatre, and the sermons of the Dutch Golden Age. Only then can we grasp how this image engages with the social and ethical debates of its time. The meaning of this artwork emerges through its connection to a specific cultural and institutional context.