Middag 1667 - 1736

"Middag," an anonymous engraving from the 17th century, depicts the personification of midday, a nude, bearded figure reclining on a cloud with a wreath of laurel on his head. The inscription "MERIDIES" identifies the figure as the midday sun god. The scene below shows a pastoral landscape with a shepherdess and two shepherds resting in the shade of a large tree, suggesting the time of day as midday. This engraving, now part of the Rijksmuseum's collection, is a captivating example of allegorical art from the Dutch Golden Age.