Titelprent: Het geachte leven van de luiwammes c. 1683

"Titelprent: Het geachte leven van de luiwammes" (c. 1683) by Giuseppe Maria Mitelli (1634-1718) depicts a satirical scene of a lazy man being woken by a figure holding a flag, likely representing a call to action or duty. The title, translated as "The Honored Life of the Lazybones Dedicated to Leisure and the Merit of...", emphasizes the irony of the man's choice to stay in bed. The artwork, now housed in the Rijksmuseum, is a fine example of 17th-century Italian etching, demonstrating the technique's ability to capture detail and nuance in the figures and the surrounding objects. The scene serves as a humorous commentary on the perceived idleness of some, drawing a connection between laziness and the pursuit of knowledge.