Arbeid en Vlijt worden beloond met een deugdzaam leven 1572

Curator: What a strangely captivating banquet. All that toil just to have a seat at the table. It's like a commentary on… oh, how do I say this without sounding like I'm judging the very notion of Renaissance self-improvement? Editor: You're drawn in by the slightly manic energy, aren’t you? We're looking at "Arbeid en Vlijt worden beloond met een deugdzaam leven," which translates to “Labor and Diligence are Rewarded with a Virtuous Life.” It’s an engraving by Philips Galle, dating back to 1572. Curator: Yes, manic! And all the classical robes and muscles… it’s so eager to please, isn't it? It wants to tell us about how we *should* be, working hard, earning our bread and being moderate at all times. So *strenuous* for an image that celebrates the “good life”. It really puts me off my dessert. Editor: Consider it as a social script. The late Renaissance was consumed with questions of social order and economic behaviour. Galle's print advocates for a certain way to prosperity – diligent labor. Note how each figure in the foreground brings their specific 'virtue' to the table: diligence (Vlijt), temperance (Matigheid), perseverance. All culminating in "Labor" receiving rewards from the Virtue overhead. Curator: Alright, alright, I hear your historical voice loud and clear. Ahem! So, diligence, perseverance and temperance at the service of “Labor.” Is Labor so feeble, then, he cannot help himself? Editor: It is not as straightforward as that, artist! Consider the setting – a feast – a very visual reward in itself. And yes, the slightly stressed but powerful “Labor” certainly has the upper hand. The print normalizes this cycle, the societal pressures towards production and order. Curator: Well, yes, there's an anxiety about it. What I see isn't quite a virtuous circle as a sort of... treadmill to nowhere? Is all that heavy lifting, all that careful saving, really worth *this*? I guess it depends on what kind of afterlife the engraver had in mind. I'm left rather exhausted just looking at it. Editor: And there you get at a crucial point. Galle's image is not simply celebratory, but exhortatory. To spur further striving for a world of order, in his image and idea. Curator: I see it. Or maybe, perhaps, I choose to see it in my way. Anyway, interesting food for thought. Editor: And a powerful statement on its era. Now, off to find some refreshments, no toiling required!