Stultitiam patiuntur opes (Wealth permits Stupidity), or, Allegory of Wealth, Lust, and Stupidity

1588
(Flemish, 1560/61–1628/32)
(Flemish, 1544–1603)
Sheet: 31.4 x 37.1 cm (12 3/8 x 14 5/8 in.); Image: 29.2 x 35.8 cm (11 1/2 x 14 1/8 in.)
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Description

In this pointed visual allegory, a king who personifies wealth counts his money at a table while a jester places a fool’s hat over his head. His female counterpart, distracted by her aged reflection in a mirror, displays her vanity in her luxurious clothing, lap dog, and hangers-on: flattery fans her, and stupidity, with a boar’s head, serves her food and drink. Such allegories were meant to both entertain while cautioning the viewer to question their own relationship to wealth.
Stultitiam patiuntur opes (Wealth permits Stupidity), or, Allegory of Wealth, Lust, and Stupidity

Stultitiam patiuntur opes (Wealth permits Stupidity), or, Allegory of Wealth, Lust, and Stupidity

1588

Raphael Sadeler, Joos Van Winghe

(Flemish, 1560/61–1628/32), (Flemish, 1544–1603)
Flanders

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