Drie schikgodinnen 1561

This 1561 engraving, "Drie schikgodinnen" ("Three Fates"), by Cornelis Cort depicts the three Greek goddesses of fate, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Clotho, the spinner, sits on the left, Lachesis, the measurer, holds the spindle, and Atropos, the cutter, stands on the right with a pair of shears. Their roles in the myth symbolize the three stages of life: birth, life, and death. Cort's detailed depiction of the Fates and their tools captures the solemnity and inevitability of human destiny.