XLV Het moet wel 1614

This is a book illustration by Roemer Visscher, dating from around 1600, made using etching. It's part of a larger emblem book, a popular genre in the Dutch Golden Age, combining images with symbolic texts. Here, we see a hen perched on a fence next to an egg. The image is paired with a proverb – "it must be so" – and an explanatory poem that speaks to the relationship between merchants and their customers. In effect, Visscher critiques the merchant class by likening them to a man who tolerates the cackling of hens only to get their eggs. Visscher satirizes the culture of commerce that was rapidly transforming Dutch society. To fully appreciate this image, we need to look at other emblem books of the period. We need to understand the literary culture of the Dutch Republic and consider the relationship between art and commerce in a rapidly expanding economy.