| Alkotó | |
|---|---|
| Kultúra | Spanish |
| Készítés ideje | ca. 1545–1550 |
| Tárgytípus | painting |
| Anyag, technika | oil on oak |
| Méret | with original frame: 44.5 × 77.5 cm |
| Leltári szám | 765 |
| Gyűjtemény | Old Master Paintings |
| Kiállítva | Museum of Fine Arts, First Floor, European Art 1250-1600, Gallery XII |
This bizarre scene, which seems at first sight to be shrouded in mystery, can be deciphered with the help of the words written on the banderole winding along the bottom right edge of the painting: “foolish are those who stubbornly argue without a breath of sense”.
The painter turned this extraordinary subject into a dynamic composition. The three male figures on the right – Obstinacy, Deceit and Complacency – appear to be trying to evade the four female figures on the left – Profligacy, Pleasure, Prosperity and Negligence. Complacency is stamping on a dragon, the symbol of Precaution. At their feet flows the river of Love. In the centre, standing as a safe haven, is the Tree of Sense; looking down from its branches are Cupid, balancing on a golden ring, and the four virtues: Volition, Memory, Sense and Understanding. The coat of arms affixed to the tree trunk indicates that the commissioner was a member of the Dominican order. This is corroborated by the message in the painting, which reflects the order’s creed, that reason must prevail over passions and desires.
Inscription in the bottom right corner, on a cartellino: LOS·QVE·QVIEREN·PORFIAR·SIN·EL·VIENTO·D||E·R||AZON·ELLOS·I·ELLAS·LOCOS·SON (Those who stubbornly argue without the wind of reason are all fools.)
Pigler, Andor, Katalog der Galerie Alter Meister, 1-2. Museum der Bildenden Künste, Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. 2, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1967, p. 22-23.
Szigethi, Ágnes – Nyerges, Éva – Ruzsa, György – Barkóczi, István – Tátrai, Vilmos, Tátrai, Vilmos (ed.), Old Masters’ Gallery; A Summary Catalogue of Italian, French, Spanish and Greek Paintings: Museum of Fine Arts Budapest 1, Budapest, 1991, p. 149.
Nyerges, Éva, Spanish Paintings, A Szépművészeti Múzeum gyűjteményei/The Collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, 2008, p. 58-59, no. 22.
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