Petronella Elias with a Basket of Fruit 1657

Ferdinand Bol painted this portrait of Petronella Elias, likely in Amsterdam, capturing her holding a basket of fruit. The fruit is heavy with symbolism. Consider the loaded image of fruit bearing—an attribute of Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruitful abundance, often associated with the cycle of life and death. The fruit offers a promise of fertility and prosperity. Yet, this imagery is hardly isolated to ancient Rome. Think of similar motifs across time—the cornucopia, overflowing with nature’s bounty, or Eve offering the apple. These symbols resurface, adapted, and repurposed through cultural memory. Such persistent use of symbolic language speaks to our collective subconscious and our inherent need to seek meaning in the natural world. It underscores how images from centuries ago continue to engage our senses and emotions today. These symbols are not static. They evolve, gain new layers, and echo through art history, forever intertwining past and present.