Griskhed 1593

Jacob Matham’s “Griskhed” (1593) is an etching depicting a personification of greed. This print is from a series of eight engravings based on designs by Hendrick Goltzius, each portraying one of the seven deadly sins and the virtue of hope. In the print, a woman is shown holding a purse in one hand and a staff in the other. Her facial expression and the abundance of items she carries suggest her insatiable desire for material possessions. This etching embodies the theme of greed through the figure's body language and symbolism. The print is currently housed in the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmark.