Large Pendant, Prudence Standing at Centre 1593

Daniel Mignot created this print of a large pendant with Prudence at the center sometime between 1593 and 1616. What we see represented here offers us a fascinating lens through which we can examine the values and aspirations of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The image's complex visual codes invite interpretation. Note the figure of Prudence, a virtue celebrated since antiquity, now rendered for a likely Christian patron in France. This print suggests the importance of wisdom, careful judgement, and foresight during a period marked by religious conflict. The formal qualities of the image - the dense ornamentation and the precise symmetry - may reflect the hierarchical social structures of the time, as well as the guilds and workshops that trained artists such as Mignot. To fully understand the cultural role of this image, one might consult primary source documents, such as guild records, inventories of noble collections, and books of emblems and devices popular at the time.