Venus en de roos 1517 - 1562

Editor: This is “Venus en de roos,” or "Venus and the Rose," an engraving by Marco Dente, made sometime between 1517 and 1562. She seems so serene, sitting there, almost melancholic, with this beautiful detailed landscape behind her. What draws your eye when you look at this print? Curator: Well, the rose itself, of course, immediately resonates. It’s not merely a pretty flower, is it? It’s a loaded symbol. We see Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, and a rose. In many traditions, the rose is associated with Venus. It’s often linked to love, beauty, passion, but also to transience and even pain because of its thorns. The image suggests that beauty and pleasure are fleeting. Editor: So, is she literally holding a symbol of her own attributes? Curator: Exactly. It's like a visual echo of her identity. Think of other recurring symbols; keys often allude to knowledge or authority, lambs often refer to sacrifice and innocence. Visual imagery carries tremendous cultural weight that accumulates and evolves over centuries. Also, look at the rabbit… Editor: Oh, I almost missed the rabbit nestled in the undergrowth! Curator: Another loaded signifier. Rabbits often symbolize fertility and lust. This counters and emphasizes the transience of love. So, the picture as a whole gains an extra layer when we place these different signs in conversation with each other, right? Editor: Absolutely. It's almost like reading a symbolic poem encoded in lines and form. Seeing the symbolism is incredibly eye-opening! Curator: Yes! And remembering that for people of that period, this vocabulary was very well known, a part of their understanding of the world, even! I wonder, now, how the symbolism would be re-encoded in contemporary imagery.