Simiolus

Seasons, Planets and Temperaments in the Work of Maarten van Heemskerck Cosmo-
Astrological Allegory in Sixteenth-Century Netherlandish Prints

Author(s): Ilja M. Veldman
Source: Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art, Vol. 11, No. 3/4 (1980), pp.
149-176
Published by: Stichting voor Nederlandse Kunsthistorische Publicaties
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'49
Seasons,planetsand temperamentsin the workof

Maartenvan Heemskerck
Cosmo-astrologicalallegoryin sixteenth-century
Netherlandishprints*
Ilja M. Veldman
The classificationof humancharacterand physicalfea- largelyruled by these signs.

turesin relationto cosmicphenomenahas been a popu- The complex system underlyingcosmo-astrological
lar intellectualpursuit since classicaltimes, and it has themes has alreadybeen analyzedat length in art-his-
providedartistswith a fertilesourceof inspiration. toricalliterature.1The figureof Saturn,who appearsin
One such artistwasMaartenvan Heemskerck(I498- Heemskerck'sTemperaments and Planets,has also been
1574),who in the spaceof six yearsproduceddesignsfor discussedin detailby Klibansky,Panofskyand Saxl,2so
threeseriesof prints: Thefourseasons,Thesevenplanets I will be restrictingmyself to only the most essential
and Thefourtemperaments. informationon this planet god and his role. My main
My reasonfor discussingthese threeserieswithinthe object will be to show how Heemskerckdecidedon the
frameworkof a singlearticlewill immediatelybe appar- design of his prints, to pin down his literaryor visual
ent. Medieval thought, which was based on classical sources,to identifyhis own, originalcontributionsto the
concepts, held that the macrocosmand the microcosm themes, if any, to determinethe function of the prints
formed a single, homogeneousentity. Its constituent whereverpossible, and to discoverwhat influencethey
parts,whichincludedthe elements,the seasons,the ages had on other artists. The personifiedseasons are dealt
of man, and humanphysicaland mentalcharacteristics, with at rathergreaterlength than the other two series,
were regardedas being subject to the positions of the the reasonbeing that so little attentionhas so far been
starsand planets.Consequently,the elementlinkingall devotedto this theme in art-historicalliterature.
the printsin these seriesis the prominentdisplayof one
or more signs of the zodiacin the sky aboveeach scene. THE FOUR SEASONS (I563) (figs. I-4) These prints,3
The activities taking place below them, on earth, are which were engravedby Philips Galle, show four large
* Unless otherwisestated,the photographsin this articlearefrom the 2 R. Klibansky, E. Panofsky& F. Saxl, Saturn and melancholy:
printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam. studiesin the historyof naturalphilosophy,religionandart, Cambridge
Translatedfrom the Dutch by MichaelHoyle. (Mass.) 1964.
i Ever since Aby Warburg'sfamous 1912 speechon the frescoesin 3 Thomas Kerrich, A catalogueof the prints whichhave beenen-
the PalazzoSchifanoiain Ferrara(printedas "ItalienischeKunst und graved after Martin Heemskerck, Cambridge (Eng.) 1829, pp. 99-100;
internationaleAstrologieim PalazzoSchifanoiazu Ferrara,"in Aby F.W.H. Hollstein, Dutchand Flemishetchings,engravingsand wood-
M. Warburg,AusgewahlteSchriftenund Wiirdigungen, ed. D. Wuttke, cuts, ca. I450-I700, vol. 8, Amsterdam n.d., p. 245, nrs. 353-56. There
Baden-Baden1979,pp. 173-99),therehas been a growingnumberof aresets of these printsin the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amster-
publicationson astrologicalrepresentations.They includeA. Hauber, dam, the printroomsin Leiden, Copenhagenand Dresden, and in the
Planetenkinderbilderund Sternbilder:zur Geschichtedes menschlichen Albertinain Vienna.Drawingsfortwo of the printshavesurvived,and
Glaubensund Irrens, Strasbourg 1916, and C. Bezold & F. Boll, both are dated I562. The drawing for Spring is in the Fondation
SternglaubeundSterndeutung: die Geschichteunddas WesenderAstro- Custodia (F. Lugt collection), Institut Neerlandais,Paris (inv. nr.
logie,Leipzig & Berlin I919. An excellentintroductionto the subject 1773),and that for Summeris in the Uffizi in Florence(Leon Preibisz,
will be found in Jean Seznec, The survival of the pagan gods: the Martinvon Heemskerck: ein Beitragzur GeschichtedesRomanismus in
mythologicaltraditionand its place in Renaissancehumanismand art, der niederlindischen Malereides XVI. Jahrhunderts,Leipzig I9I , p.
New York 1963 (ed. pr. 1940), especiallypp. 37-83: "The physical 85, nr. 24; exhib. cat. Disegnifiamminghi e olandesi,Florence (Gabi-
tradition." netto disegni e stampe degli Uffizi) 1964, p. 27).

I50 ILJA M. VELDMAN
male personificationsin a landscape.Floatingin the sky

are the three signs of the zodiac appropriateto each
season,while down on earthpeopleare seen engagedin
activitiesassociatedwith the time of year.At the bottom
of eachprintis a four-lineLatinverse.The signatureon
the first print shows that the verses were composedby
the philologistand town physicianof Haarlem,Hadria-
nus Junius, who providedthe inscriptionsfor many of
Heemskerck'sprints.These verses,which were includ-
ed with only a few alterationsin spelling in Junius's
posthumous Poematum liberprimus ( 598),4 give a fairly
precise descriptionof each scene. This suggests that
Heemskerck'spreliminarydrawingsserved as the im-
mediatemodels for Junius'stexts.5
Junius'scelebrationof Spring(fig. I) runs as follows.
"A young man garlandedwith leaves, his knees bare,
adornedwith a quiver,moving lithely in his trappings,
*[-l~;f_~t3.~Y~;Y~!k'~Jxbt9
(rC.N4;'RIAS;l<.r
',J;<9M
IK t~/tl(CJ_t'tiltt1 'T"HAlTYY.Mls.' %ENIY.I
JENI X J;..
y
'JTnC1ylo I,rNTvvri p'4, ff..EMU his bearing proud: that is the appearanceof Spring.
Vigorof mind and physicaleffortarein full bloom.Pails
Philips Galle afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Spring,nr. I of a seriesof Four overflowwith milk,and the canesarearoundthe vine."6
seasons( 563), engraving
The youngmanalsocarriesa falconanda bow. Floating
in the sky abovehis head,fromrightto left, arethe signs
of Aries, Taurus and Gemini.7
Summer(fig. 2) is underthe signs of Cancer,Leo and
Virgo. The personificationand his attributesare de-
scribedas follows."TherestandsSummer,unclad,with
a wreathof cornon his head,his featuresthose of a full-
grownman, holdingheavyearsof corn. The cornstalks
4 HadrianusJunius,Poematumliberprimus:pia et moraliacarmina,
Leiden (Louis Elsevier)1598, pp. 157-58.
5 For furtherinformationon Junius as a composerof verses for
Heemskerck'sprints see Ilja M. Veldman,Maartenvan Heemskerck
and Dutchhumanismin the sixteenthcentury,Maarssen& Amsterdam
I977, PP. 97-II2.
6 Frondecomans,nudusquegenu, pharetraquedecorus,
Procinctuqueagilis iuvenis, nisoquesuperbus,
Veris hic est habitus.Ferventgeniusquelaborque.
Lacte fluuntmulctrae,vitemquestatuminavaliant.
I am greatly indebted to Dr. C.L. Heesakkersfor his assistancein
translatingthe Latin in this article.
7 Strangelyenough,changesweremadein the positionof the signs
of the zodiac between the design stage and the final execution. In
Heemskerck'sdrawing, Aries, with which spring begins, is in the
.CDL sPhii Foul_r
GayeafteM 9/saaJrtn
a err.aLDNT
seie oiSfw
s centerflankedby Taurus(the next sign) on the left and Geminion the
AS NIT ng
easoytnfiHF "s (y-Kv
nSTra.Sr
T5i3w) tyv;^Nlrr right. In the drawing of Summer,Heemskerckdrew the signs of
Cancer,Leo and Virgo fromright to left. It seems that Philips Galle,
2 PhilipsGalle afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Summer,nr. 2 of a series of Four eitheractingon the suggestionof the designeror on his own initiative,
seasons (I563), engraving
decidedto opt for consistency.In Springhe engravedthe signs in the
copperfromleft to rightin the chronologicalorder,and in Summerhe
reversedthe orderin which they are found in the drawing.The result
is certainlyconsistent,but it would perhapshave been more logical
(and in view of the drawingfor Summer,this may have been what

Seasons,planetsand temperamentsin the workof M. van Heemskerck I5I
fallto the scythe,the grassin the meadowis mowed,and

the hored ram yields up the glory of his fleece."8
Autumn(fig. 3), escortedby Libra,Scorpioand Sagit-
tarius,is depictedas an older man. "But you, Autumn,
yourhead wreathedin vine-tendrilsbearingbunchesof
grapes,and rich beyond comparewith a fertile horn of
plenty;whatrichesdo you not showeraboutyou? Bear-
ing new, young wine and bedewed fruit, you entrust
grainto the furrowsof the fieldas the hope of the year."9
Winter(fig. 4) is accompaniedby Capricorn,Aqua-
rius and Pisces. "Cold Winter, you have taken on the
guise of an emaciatedgraybeard.Your bristly beardis
stiff from the cold, and you have coveredyour temples
with a fur hat. A cloakof double thicknesscovers your
body, and boots your feet. The fire from a flickering
brazierwarmsyour bloodlesshands."'0
-??'~,:.:.,~L
I .. ,m. -?
*
The fourseasonswere frequentlydepictedas personifi- ocvNoprytgetMV s sL4fDtI
(nten J-.W
(n:;8 3tfma
r7 SlNi '4,a.NW,i.
NNiSAVl
cationsin classicaltimes. Initiallythey were presented

3 Philips Galle afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Autumn,nr. 3 of a seriesof Four
as femalefigures,horae,and had more or less fixed at- seasons( 563), engraving
tributes: flowersfor Spring, ears of corn for Summer,
and grapesand otherfruitfor Autumn.Winterwas well
wrappedup againstthe cold, often with her head cov-
ered, and carriedtwigs, ducks or a hare." In later im-
perialtimes the seasons were also representedas male
wingedgenii,chieflyon sarcophagiandtriumphalarches.
They have the same attributes as the horae, but are
garlandedwith flowers,ears of corn and vine leaves.12
Heemskerckintended)if the twelve signs had been arrangedso that
theycouldbe readin one continuoussequencefromleft to rightacross
the four prints.
8 SpiceasertagerensAestasnuda astat,adulti
Oraviri referens,gravidastendentisaristas.
Falce caduntsegetes, tondenturgraminecampi.
Cornigeratque arieslanaedeponit honorem.
9 At tu pampineisredimiteAutumneracemis,
Foecundoquesuper rerumditissimecornu,
Quas non fundis opes? Fers musta, et roscidapoma,
Spemqueanni sulcis cerealiaseminamandas.
so Effoetimentiresenis speciem algidaBruma.
Hispidabarbariget; pellitus temporacudo,
Corpusabolladuplex operit, plantasquecalones.
Exanguesquemanusfoculus fovet igne coruscus. -KfI 7 #'ENI ITX; se.xI
KF...,/iS
J., X rv tr ..
1 For a detaileddiscussionof personificationsof the four seasons
in classicalantiquitysee G.M.A. Hanfmann,TheSeasonSarcophagus
in DumbartonOaks,2 vols., Cambridge(Mass.) 195I. 4 Philips Galle after Maartenvan Heemskerck,Winter,nr. 4 of a seriesof Four
12 Ibid., vol. i, pp. 2I5-I9, with examplesof a sarcophagusin the Seasons( 563), engraving
PalazzoMattei (Rome), fig. 31; two in the Palazzodei Conservatori,
figs. 30 and 33; the Arch of Septimius Severus, figs. 21-24; and the
Archof Constantine,fig. 71. See also Table III in JamesFowler,"On
mediaevalrepresentationsof the months and seasons,"Archaeologia
44 (873), pp. I73-224 (pp. I94-97).

152 ILJA M. VELDMAN
AlthoughOvid does not speak specificallyof male fig- Speculumdoctrinale(I:9), in which manuallabor was
ures(adheringto the Latingenderof the seasons,as one presentedas the idealway for manto freehimselfof the
might expect), it does seem that a passage from his necessitiesto which his body had been subjectsince the
Metamorphoses(2 :27-30) was responsible for this vari- fall.15
ant. In a descriptionof the palaceof the Sun, Phoebusis On the rareoccasionsin the middleageswhenthe four
seated on his throne flankedby personificationsof the seasonsaredepictedas personificationstheyaregeneral-
day, the month, the year, the centuryand the four sea- ly presentedas quasi-classicalhalffigures.Spring,Sum-
sons. "Young Spring was there, wreathedwith a floral merandAutumnhaveretainedthe traditionalattributes
crown/ Summer,all uncladwith garlandof ripe grain/ of flowers,earsof corn and grapes,while Winteris rep-
Autumnwas there,stainedwith the troddengrape/and resentedby wind or snow, or is shown as a man sitting
icy Winterwith white and bristlylocks."13 by a fire, the form in which the months of December
In earlymedievaltimes the depictionof the four sea- and Januarywere depictedfrom the ninth centuryon-
sons gavewayto thatof the twelvemonths,the originsof wards.16Fire as the characteristicattributeof Winter
which can be tracedto late antiquity.The months are can be found as far back as Ovid's Remediaamoris
representedby humanfiguresengagedin activitiesap- (Ii :I87-88), togetherwith flowersfor Spring, the har-
propriateto eachmonth,rangingfromreligiousceremo- vest for Summer,and fruit for Autumn.17
nies to laboring in the fields.14These scenes are the Heemskerck'spersonificationslackthe wingsand the
forerunnersof the traditional"laborsof the months," youthful appearancewhich were the main characteris-
whichfirstappearedin the thirteenthcenturyin church tics of the classicalgenii.Springand Summer,however,
doorwaysand on calendars,often with the appropriate are wearing their garlandsof flowers and corn, so it
signs of the zodiac. Here the human figures are seen would appearthat his model was not so much classical
solely in the context of workingthe land, partlydue to sculpture as the text of Ovid's Metamorphoses, which
the influence of a passage in Vincent of Beauvais's wasverywidelyknownin the sixteenthcentury.Hadria-
I3 Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans.FrankJustus Miller, 2 vols., Cam- An illustrationin an eleventh-centurymanuscriptin the Bibliotheque
bridge(Mass.) & London 1960-64,vol. I, p. 62: Nationale,Paris (ms. 7028, fol. 154), reproducedin Seznec, op. cit.
Verquenovumstabatcinctumflorentecorona, (note i), p. 63, shows the four seasonsas busts: Spring with flowers,
stabatnuda Aestaset spiceasertagerebat, Summerwith a corn sheaf, Autumnapparentlywith bowls of grapes
stabatet Autumnuscalcatissordidusuvis or wine, and Winterwith the disembodiedhead of a wind. The bust
et glacialisHiems canoshirsutacapillos. form is also found in AmbrogioLorenzetti'sfrescoes in the Palazzo
Hanfmann,op. cit. (note II), vol. i, p. 140 identifiesthe source of Pubblico in Siena: Spring with flowers,Summer with a scythe and
Ovid's passageas a poem written at the court of Alexandriawith a ears of corn, Autumn with grapes,and Winter with snowflakes(see
descriptionof a paradeforPtolemyII in whichPhaetonand personifi- Paolo d'Ancona, L'uomoe le sue operenellefigurazioneitaliane del
cationsof differenttime spanstakepart. medioevo, Florence 1923, p. 92 and fig. 35 [Summer and Autumn]).
14 See D.Levi, "The allegoriesof the monthsin classicalart," The See alsothe iconographicconventionsfor Byzantineartin the Manuel
Art Bulletin 23 (1941), pp. 25I-91, and J.C. Webster, The labors of the d'iconographiechretiennegrecqueet latine,Paris(M. Didron) 1845,pp.
monthsin antiqueand mediaevalart to the end of the i2th century, 408-09, where Spring is describedas a seated man surroundedby
PrincetonI938. There were also attemptsto depict workon the land flowerswitha floralgarlandon his headandwitha harpas anattribute;
within the context of the four classicalpersonifications,an example Summeras a manin a hat wieldinga scythe; Autumnas a mancutting
being the milkingof a sheep in springand bindingup corn sheavesin down a tree; and Winteras a figurewrappedin a fur coat and with a
summeron the sarcophagusin DumbartonOaks;see Hanfmann,op. cap on his head, warminghimselfby a fire.The examplesof cathedral
cit. (note I ), fig. 2. sculpturecited by Fowler,op. cit. (note 12), p. 178andpp. 180-82,are
15 Emile Male, The gothic image: religiousart in France of the eithertoo fragmentaryor too debatableto be used forcomparison.For
thirteenthcentury,New York,Evanstone& London 1958, pp. 64-66. depictions of December and Januaryas an old man by a fire see
See also Fowler, op. cit. (note 12), and Julien Le Senecal, "Les Webster,op. cit. (note 14),nr. 24, fig. Io; nr. 25, fig. i; nr. 32, fig. i6,
occupationsdes mois," Bulletinde la Societedes antiquairesde Nor- et seq.
mandie 35 (1924), Caen, Rouen & Paris. 17 Ovid, The art of Love, and otherpoems,trans. J.H. Mozley,
16 Hanfmann,op. cit. (note I I), vol. i, p. 269 describesan illustra- Cambridge(Mass.) & London I969, pp. I90-9I: "Pomadat autum-
tion in the Octateuchmanuscriptof the eleventh or twelfth century nus: formosa est messibus aestas, Ver praebet flores: igne levatur
(Vatican,ms. 747, fol. 30). Springrunningand halfnaked;Summeris hiemps"(Autumnbringsfruits, Summeris fair with harvest,Spring
nudeandis gatheringin the harvest;Autumnis a satyr-likefigurewith brings flowers, Winter is relieved by fire). This passage follows a
a wineskin;Winter,dressedin a fur coat, is warminghimselfby a fire. descriptionof the customaryagriculturallaborsfor each season.

Seasons, planetsand temperamentsin the workof M. van Heemskerck I53
nus Junius's verses are a clear pointer to the influence of the laborsvaried,dependingon the regionand local
of the Metamorphoses. His "spicea serta gerens Aestas tradition,it can be said that the plantingof young vines
nuda astat" (there stands Summer, unclad, with a in Heemskerck'sSpringstands for March, milking for
wreathof cornon his head)differsverylittle fromOvid's April and huntingfor May. The haymakingin Summer
"stabatnuda Aestas et spicea sertagerebat"(Summer, representsJune, sheep-shearingJuly, and harvesting
all unclad, with garland of ripe grain). His "fronde August. The grape-pickingin Autumnstands for Sep-
comans"(garlandedwith leaves)is a very minor varia- tember, harrowingand sowing for October, and the
tion on "cinctum florente corona" (wreathed with a slaughter of livestock for November. The scenes of
floral crown); his "algida Bruma" (cold Winter) is a people warmingthemselvesby a fireplaceand feasting
synonym for "glacialisHiems" (icy Winter); and his arounda coveredtablein Winteraretraditionallyassoci-
"hispidabarba"(bristlybeard)is virtuallythe same as ated with December,Januaryand February.20
Ovid's "hirsutacapillos"(bristlylocks). There is yet anotherelement in Heemskerck'sFour
Heemskerckalso incorporateda numberof elements seasonsthat can be traced back to a classical literary
from medievalrepresentationsof the months, possibly source,and that is the mergingof the four seasonswith
because he had exhausted the stock of iconographic the four ages of man. Spring, as we have seen, is de-
ideas provided by Ovid. Examples include Winter's pictedas a youngman,Summeras a manin the primeof
brazierand Spring's falcon and bow and arrow. The life, Autumnas a man of advancedyears,and Winteras
falcon belongs to the month of May, the traditional a graybeard.
hunting season, which was frequentlyrepresentedby a Giraldi gives Pythagorasas a source of this synthe-
horsemanor a standing figure with a falcon from the sis.21 The authorities he cites include Ovid (Metamor-
twelfthcenturyonwards.18 Althoughthe bow and arrow phoses I5 :I99-213), who also mentions Pythagoras as a
are clearlyassociatedwith hunting they do not, to my sourcewhenhe saysof the seasons:"Then again,do you
knowledge,appearas such in medievalcalendarillustra- not see the year assumingfour aspects, in imitationof
tions. It is possible that they were derived from the ourown lifetime?For in earlyspringit is tenderand full
classicalcustomof associatingeach month with a deity, of fresh life, just like a little child [...] After spring has
whichis alsomentionedin Giraldi'sDe anniset mensibus passed, the year, grown more sturdy, passes into sum-
(I54I). The god for the month of May was Apollo.19 mer and becomes like a strong young man [...] Then
The elementsin Heemskerck'sprintswhichareclear- autumncomes,withits firstflushof youthgone, but ripe
ly linked with the traditionalmedievalprogramof the and mellow, midway in time between youth and age,
laborsof the months are the signs of the zodiacand the with sprinkledgrey showingon the temples. And then
backgrounds,in which the labors for each month are comes aged winter, with falteringstep and shivering,
condensedinto four scenes. Althoughthe iconography locks all gone and hoary."22
i8 For a horsemanwith falconsee Webster,op. cit. (note 14),nr. 64, Hans Sebald Beham: ein kritischesVerzeichnissseiner Kupferstiche,
and nr. 76, fig. 48; nr. 90, fig. 56; nr. 93, fig. 59; nr. 95, fig. 6I, and nr. Radirungenund Holzschnitte,Strasbourg1901, nrs. II99-I2IO; for
96, fig. 62. See also the FontanaGrandein Perugia, by Nicola and reproductionssee F.W.H. Hollstein, Germanengravings,etchingsand
GiovanniPisano;B. Bresciani,Figurazionideimesinell'artemedioevale woodcuts,ca. I400-i700, vol. 3, Amsterdamn.d., p. 239).
italiana,Verona1968,fig. 28aand b. For a standingfigurewith falcon 21 Giraldi,op. cit. (note 19), p. 70.
see Webster,op. cit. (note 14), nr. 92, fig. 58; and Mile, op. cit. (note 22 Ovid, op. cit. (note 13), vol. 2, pp. 378-79: "Quid? Non in
15),p. 72, fig. 36 (Notre-Dame,Paris).For remarkson falconryin late speciessuccederequattuorannumadspicis,aetatisperagentumimita-
antiquitysee C.W. Vollgraff,"Nieuweopgravingente Argos,"Mede- mina nostrae?Nam tener et lactens puerique simillimus aevo vere
deelingender KoninklijkeAkademievan Wetenschappen, afd. Letter- novo est [...] Transitin aestatempost ver robustiorannusfitquevalens
kunde72b, AmsterdamI931, pp. 71-120 (esp. pp. Ioo-o5). iuvenis [...] Excipitautumnus,posito fervoreiuventaematurusmitis-
19 Menelogiumrusticumcolotianum:inscriptiones urbisRomaelati- que inter iuvenemquesenemque temperie medius, sparsus quoque
nae,Webster,op. cit. (note I4), p. I04; and Lilio GregorioGiraldi,De temporacanis. Inde senilis hiems tremulo venit horridapassu, aut
anniset mensibus,caeterisque temporum partibus,Basle (Mich. Isingri- spoliatasuos, aut, quos habet, alba capillos."See also an emblem by
nius) 1541, pp. 88-89. BartolomeusAnulus, Picta poesis,ut picturapoesiserit, Lyons (Mat-
20 This programpersistedinto the sixteenthcenturyin both calen- thias Bonhomme) 1552, p. 26, "Aeternahominum natura"(Man's
dar illustrationsand independent prints. See the series of twelve eternalnature),in which the four seasonsareassociatedwith the four
woodcuts made by Hans Sebald Beham for Luther's prayerbook ages of man (A. Henkel & A. Schone, Emblemata:Handbuchzur
(Nuremberg,1527),whichwerecopiedon severaloccasions(G. Pauli, Sinnbildkunst des 16. und 7.yahrhunderts,Stuttgart1967,pp. 48-50).

I54 ILJA M. VELDMAN
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5 Jacob Mathamafter HendrickGoltzius, Spring,nr. i of a seriesof 6 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Summer,nr. 2 of a series

Fourseasons(1589), engraving of Fourseasons( 589), engraving
......... .
:f...
.-?'
k:?.??;?'? ? ?*
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7 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Autumn,nr. 3 of a series 8 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Winter,nr. 4 of a series of

of Fourseasons(1589), engraving Fourseasons(I589), engraving

Seasons,planetsand temperamentsin the workof M. van Heemskerck I55
There are no examplesin classicalartof scenesof the kerck'sversion. His Winter(fig. 8) has similaritiesin
four seasonsincorporatingthe four ages of man. In the clothing.The signsof the zodiacin all fourprintsappear
middle ages, though, according to the encyclopedic to be straightforwardborrowings.Goltzius, too, adopt-
tradition,varyingnumbersof ages were being depicted ed the synthesis with the four ages of man, but he also
in conjunctionwith other cosmic scenes.23The age of introduceda new element:a wind characteristicof each
GrowingYouth was often shownas a young man with a season,derivedfromthe associationof the seasonswith
falcon,24andappearsto havederivedmuchof its iconog- a particularwind direction, which was establishedin
raphy from that of the months. However, as far as I classicaltimes and was reportedby Giraldi.Springwas
know, these prints by Heemskerckare the earliestex- associatedwith the south (and thus the south wind),
amplesof such a completesynthesisof the seasonsand Summer with the east, Autumn with the north, and
the ages of man. Winterwith the west.26
The landscape scenes are no more than a passing
Heemskerck's placein the development oJthe themeHen- reference to the season's activities, and Goltzius has
drick Goltzius, who also lived in Haarlemand was a replacedthe laborsof milking and plantingout young
pupil of Dirck Volkertsz. Coornhert,one of Heems- vines with the pleasuresof eatingand love-making.The
kerck'sfirstand most productiveengravers,designeda Latin versesby FranciscusEstius,aremore a lyricalde-
series of Four seasons(I589; figs. 5-8) which clearly scriptionof the cycle of natureand the influenceof the
shows that he knew of Heemskerck'sversion of the signs of the zodiac than a detailedcommentaryon the
theme. These four prints, which were engraved by personifications.27
Jacob Matham,25also show standingmale personifica- Goltzius and Mathamalso produceda second, smal-
tions which fill the entireheight of the scene. Goltzius, ler series of Four seasons.28The scenes are set in ovals
however,omitted attributesnot specificallymentioned decoratedwith strapwork,andonce againthey consistof
by Ovid, such as the bow, arrowand falcon, and Au- malepersonificationswithsimilarattributes,the signsof
tumn's horn of plenty. Goltzius'sSummer(fig. 6) gives the zodiac,the four winds, and workon the land. These
everyappearanceof being directlymodelledon Heems- prints,however,are undatedand have no inscriptions.
23 Didron, op. cit. (note 16), pp. 409-I; Emile Male, L'Art reli- with multi-coloredleaves.The wholeforestresoundsto the chorusof
gieux de la fin du moyen-ageen France,Paris 1908, pp. 324ff; R. van the birds,and the gentle Ram colorsthe earthwith his golden fleece.)
Marle, Iconographie de l'artprofaneau moyen-ageet i la renaissance: 2) Aestasmaturisfecundatfrugibusannum,
allegories et symboles,The Hague 1932, pp. 53ff;F. Boll, "Die Lebens- Illius exornantspiceasertacaput.
alter," Neue Jahrbiicherfur das KlassischeAltertum:Geschichteund Illius adventuCancerterrasquesalumque
deutsche Literatur I6 (I9I3), pp. 89-154. Illustrat,Cererirusticaturbalitat.
24 Boll, op. cit. (note 23), pp. I02-04 and figs. 3 and 4; van Marle, (Summerfertilizesthe yearwith his ripe fruits; his head is garlanded
op. cit. (note 23), fig. I88; Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note with grain. At his coming the Crabshines on earth and sea, and the
2), figs. 58 and 79. In Guillaume de La Perriere'sLa morosophie, farmerssacrificeto Ceres.)
contenantcentemblemes moraux,Lyons (Mace Bonhomme) 1553, nr. 3) PomiferAutumnusturgentibusuvidus uvis,
57, a youngman with a falcon,representingSpringand Youth, stands Mi pleno cornucopia largefluit.
oppositean old manwitha stick,representingWinterandOld Age. An Et lautis mensis bellariabellaministro
examplefromnetherlandishartis a woodcutof the wheelof life, which Aequatdum nocti pendulaLibra diem.
was printedin Kampenin 1558, and is reproducedin M. de Meyer, (Fruit-bearingAutumn is suffused with tender grapes. Rich abun-
PopulareDruckgraphikEuropas:Niederlande,vom 15. bis zum 20. danceflowsfor me fromhis full hornof plenty. I load the sumptuous
Jahrhundert, Munich 1970, fig. 91. tableswith splendidfruit, while the suspendedScalesmakeday equal
25 Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. II, p. 230, nrs. 300-03. Adam to night.)
Bartsch,Lepeintre-graveur, vol. 3, Vienna 1803,pp. 166-67,nrs. 140- 4) Alget et ante focum torpescitBrumanivalis,
43. Pellitacingens frigidamembratoga.
26 Giraldi, op. cit. (note 19), p. 70. Hanfmann, op. cit. (note iI), Anni babentis[abeuntis?]senium Capricornereducis
vol. I, p. 155 states that this systemcombinedwith the four elements Te radiantestupet terrasepultarive [nive?].
originatedwith Antiochusof Athens. (He is cold, snowy Winter,and sits rigid beforethe fire, his freezing
27 i) Vere reflorescensvestiturfrondibusarbor, limbs wrappedin a fur coat. And as you, 0 Capricorn,transformthe
Vestiturtellus versicolorecoma. age of the departingold year [to the youth of the new], the earthlies
Concentuqueavium,resonatnemus omne, Ariesque buriedin snow while you shine down.)
Mitior auratovelleretingit humum. 28 Hollstein,op. cit. (note 3), vol. II, p. 230, nrs. 296-99. There is a
(In Spring the buddingtree is coveredin foliage,the earthis clothed set of these printsin the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam.

I56 ILJA M. VELDMAN
9 MasterA.P., Summer(from a seriesof Fourseasons),woodcut(photo: BritishMuseum, London)
The theme of four personified seasons also seems to sions. Standingon the canopyaboveeachtriumphalcar
have appealed to other sixteenth-century Netherlandish is the season: Springas a young womanwith flowersin
print designers. In order to make a proper assessment of her/gownand in her hair;Summeras a scantily-dressed
the iconography of Heemskerck's prints and of Golt- woman garlandedwith corn stalks and holding up a
zius's related versions it is necessary to compare them wreathof corn (fig. 9); Autumnas a man in half-length
briefly with other, more or less contemporary depictions armorholding grapesand garlandedwith vine leaves;
of the theme. and Winteras an old womanwith a brazieron her head.
The earliest Netherlandish example of a quartet of Seated in the place of honor of the cars, however,are
personifications is, as far as I know, the series of wood- mythologicaldeitiesassociatedwith eachseason:Flora,
cuts by the Master AP, who was active around 1536.29In Ceres,PomonaandJanus.30The carsaresurroundedby
this series the scenes are designed as triumphal proces- crowdsof classicalgods and personificationsrepresent-
29 Wouter Nijhoff, NederlandschehoutsnedenI500-I550, The goddess of agriculture,and has the attributeof ears of corn, which
Hague 1933-36, p. 28 and figs. 153-60. Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. makesher a good representativeof summer(see also p. 159).Pomona
13, pp. 12-13 (with reproductions). is found representingautumn in the Eclogue(2) of Ausonius; see
30 Flora'spresenceis basedon her associationwith spring flowers Webster,op. cit. (note 14), p. io8 (E). Janusis the symbolof January
(seeJulius S. Held, "Flora,goddessand courtesan,"Essaysin honorof (whichis namedafterhim) in classicaltexts (Webster,pp. 104 (B), o06
Erwin Panofsky, New York 1961, pp. 201-I8, esp. p. 203). Ceres is the (C), 107(D), et seq.) and in medievaldepictions(Webster,nrs. 28, 31,
35, 40 et seq.).

Seasons,planetsand temperamentsin the workof M. van Heemskerck 157
ing conditions and characteristicsappropriateto that his Spring(fig. io), Lombardadoptedthe "verybeauti-
particularseason.31The crowds in each scene are also ful goddess" (fig. 14) with her "garlandof roses and
holding up three bannerswith the signs of the zodiac other flowers"(whichare describedbut not depictedin
and the namesof the months. In the backgroundwe see the Hypnerotomachia), together with her companion,
the laborsof those monthsand the temperamentsasso- the "wingedand handsomelittle lad with his wounding
ciated with each season.32Each woodcutalso has a line attributes"(i.e. bow and arrow),but omittingthe doves
from Ovid's Metamorphoses (2 :27-30), which certainly and the classical sacrificeurn. The "lady of virginal
seems to be the sourcefor the attributesdepicted. appearance,crownedwith earsof corn, carryinga horn
Notwithstanding the evidence of the inscriptions, with ripe grainin her handand with a corn sheaf at her
however,the MasterAP seems to have drawnhis ideas feet," who stands for Summer(fig. 15), appearsin the
for the designof the seriesfromthe morecontemporary same form in Lombard'sprint (fig. II), with the omis-
sourceof the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili(1499), particu- sion of the boy with earsof corn, who is not mentioned
larly in his use of the triumphalcar, which is rarein the in the text. There is a very strikingsimilaritybetween
iconography of the seasons. The descriptionand illus- Lombard(fig. 12) and the Hypnerotomachia (fig. i6) in
trationof the seasonsin the Hypnerotomachia is imme- the depictionof Autumn,"a nude god with grapesand
diately precededby a woodcut showing the triumphal vine tendrils,and a long-hairedgoat." Winter(fig. 17)
processionof Vertumnusand Pomona.33Here too the appearsin the Hypnerotomachia as a king with scepter
car,whichis drawnby fauns(goatsin the MasterAP), is and crown, wearingan animal skin and set against a
accompaniedby a crowd of people carryingthree ban- cloudysky heavywith rainand snow. Lombard(fig. I3)
ners. The masterhas incorporatedPomona'sattribute has retained the motif of a king, together with the
of the cornucopiaas an independentelementin his alle- classicalsandalsmentionedin the text of the Hypneroto-
goricalfiguresof Copiecornu and Abundancia. machia,but has given him two facesand has addedfour
The MasterAP's use of mythologicalfiguresto repre- disembodiedheadspuffingout the winds,and the tradi-
sent the seasonsseems to have inaugurateda new pic- tional winterattributeof the brazier.
torial tradition,and one which was to generate more The one-line Latin inscriptionson Lombard'sprints
imitationsthan Heemskerck'spurerOvidianpersonifi- tell us nothingaboutthe personifications,but turnout to
cations. be each of the four lines of an epigramfrom the Antho-
In 1568, four years after the appearanceof Heems- logia Latina which is attributedto Vomaniusand de-
kerck'sseries, HieronymusCock published a series of scribes the effects of the different seasons. "Spring
Four seasonsby Lambert Lombard, which consists of paintsthe burgeoningmeadowsin varyinghues / Burn-
two femaleand two malepersonifications(figs. Io-i3).34 ing summerclothesthe fieldswith Ceres'searsof corn/
Lombard clearly seems to have been inspired by the Autumn plucks the swollen grapes from the vine / In
Hypnerotomachia, with its descriptionand illustrationof winter the heavens are chilled by the snow-laden
the four seasonsset on a marblealtar(figs. 14-I7).35 In cloud."36
31 In Spring they include Mercury, Orpheus, Pan, Liber Pater, buch40 (1919),pp. 206-40 (esp. p. 240); Hollstein,op. cit. (note3), vol.
Apollo and the Nine Muses; in Summer:Phoebus, Sitis, Aestus, II, p. 93, nrs. 19-22. Lombard's signature was removed in the
Pilunus, Saturn,Labor and Maturitas;in Autumn:Copiecornu,Pal- specimensreproducedhere, whichare from the RoyalLibrary,Brus-
las, Priapus,Bacchus, Abundancia,Silenus, Infirmitas,Nausea and sels.
Morbus; and in Winter:Aeolus, Vulcan,Anacharsis,Desidia, Som- 35 Colonna,op. cit. (note 33); Appel, op. cit. (note 33), figs. 67-70.
nus, Crapula, Frigus, Horror, Tenebre, Podagra, Paupertas and 36 Ver pingit variogemmantiapratacolore.
Defectus. Ignea vestit agrosculmis Cerealibusaestas.
32 Spring(youth)is the time of the Sanguinici,summer(maturity) Vitibus autumnusturgentesdetrahituvas.
that of the Cholerici,autumn(middle age) that of the Melancholici, Frigoreat hybernaest gravibusnive nubibusaether.
and winter(old age) that of the Phlegmatici(see also p. I70). For the epigramsee PoetaeLatiniminores,ed. AemiliusBaehrens,vol.
33 FrancescoColonna(?), Hypnerotomachia Poliphili,ubi humana 4, Leipzig 1882, pp. 13I-32 (section "Carmina duodecim sapientium
omnianonnisisomniumessedocet,Venice(AldusManutius)1499.J. W. de diversiscausis: VII Tetrastichade quattuortemporibus").In that
Appel, The dreamof Poliphilus:fac-similesof one hundredand sixty- version, however, the fourth line begins with the words "Frigidus
eightwoodcutsin theHypnerotomachia Poliphili,[London] 889, fig. 66. hiberno."The "Frigoreat hyberna"on the print should probablybe
34 Adolph Goldschmidt,"LambertLombard,"Preussisches Jahr- readas "Frigoreet hyberna."

I58 ILJA M. VELDMAN
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10-I3 Lambert Lombard, a series of Four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter (1568), engravings (photos: Royal Library, Brussels)

IMIMICWIAZ
t1r...w
, .
14-I7 Spring,Summer,Autumnand Winter,woodcutsfrom the Hypnerotomachia

Poliphili(1499)
The text of the Hypnerotomachia is also silent on the What is so striking is that Lombard has depicted
identitiesof the gods, with the exceptionof Winter,for Winteras a blend of Aeolus and Janus. Apartfrom his
which the inscriptionreads: "hyemi aeoliae .s." (dedi- appearancein the Winterof the MasterAP, Janus was
catedto the Aeolianwinter),telling us that this must be the symbol of January in classical and post-classical
Aeolus, the masterof the winds. However, the various literature,and he was also depictedas such in illustra-
attributesleave little doubt that the other figures are tions of the monthsfrom the tenth centuryonwards.38
Venus and Cupid, Ceres, and Bacchus. These gods, The popularityof the epigramson the fourseasonsin
includingthe king of the winds, were being associated the AnthologiaLatina,all of which are variationson the
with the seasonsbackin classicaltimes, as is clearfrom fourwell-knownlines in Ovid, is also clearfroma series
an epigramattributedto Euphorbiusin the Anthologia of Fourseasonswhich HieronymusCockcommissioned
Latina."In spring,goldenVenus rejoicesin garlandsof from engraverPieter van der Heyden in 1570.39Spring
bloomingflowers/ YellowCeresrulesin summer/ Your and Summer(fig. 18)areafterdesignsby PieterBruegel
power,O Bacchus,is at its height duringwine-bringing dated I565 and I568 respectively,40and Autumnand
autumn/ In winterthe scepterpassesto the cold, bitter Winterare after Hans Bol. These four prints continue
winds."37 the traditionof the laborsof the months, albeit in four
37 Ibid., vol. 4, p. 132: 39 Hollstein,op. cit. (note3), vol. 9, pp. 30-31, nrs. 63-66. Renevan
VereVenus gaudetflorentibusaureasertis. Bastelaer,Les estampesde Pieter BruegelrAncien, son oeuvreet son
FlavaCeresaestatishabet sua temporeregna. temps, Brussels I905-07, nrs. 200 and 202.
Uvifero autumnosummaest tibi, Bacche,potestas; 40 The drawing for Spring is in the Albertina,Vienna, and the
Imperiumsaevis hibero frigoreventis. drawing for Summeris in the Kunsthalle, Hamburg; see Ludwig
38 See note 30. Miinz, The drawings of Bruegel, London 1961, nrs. 151-52.

i6o ILJA M. VELDMAN
I8 Pietervan der Heyden afterPieterBruegel,Summer

(1570), engraving
rather than twelve scenes, in that they depict people the second line of an epigram by Julianus ("Hot summer
working on the land and omit any kind of personification brings bounteous harvests to the fields"). Autumn has
or allegory. What makes this series all the more remark- the third line of an epigram by Vitalis ("Fruit-bearing
able, and at the same time says a great deal for the Autumn gives grapes pregnant with young wine"). Win-
persistence of the classical and allegorical basis of the ter has the fourth line of an epigram by Basilius ("Win-
theme, is that each print not only has an inscription ter's strength captures the flying billows in its ice").41
comparing it to the four corresponding ages of man (a It seems probable that Cock was responsible for
motif totally absent in the prints themselves), but also a choosing these inscriptions, and possibly for the texts on
line of verse from the Anthologia Latina, which seems to Lombard's prints as well, since Bruegel merely labelled
have escaped the notice of previous commentators. Sur- his drawing of Spring: "De lenten, Mert, April, Meij"
prisingly enough, though, those four lines do not come (Spring; March, April, May).
from one but from four different epigrams on the sea- Towards the end of the sixteenth century it became
sons. Spring has the first line from the epigram by increasingly common to depict the seasons as mytho-
Euphorbius quoted above ("In spring, golden Venus logical figures, although it is not always clear precisely
rejoices in garlands of blooming flowers"). Summer has who the gods and goddesses are.42Their identity, how-
41 Poetae Latini minores,cit. (note 36), pp. I32, 133-34 and 131 Winteras an old manor womansittingat a sumptuoustable by a fire.
respectively: Pers's edition of Ripa, Iconologiaof uytbeeldinghe des verstands,Am-
I) Vere Venus gaudetflorentibusaureasertis. sterdam 644, pp. 507 and 509, cites PierusValerianus'sHieroglyphica
2) Frugiferasarvisfert aestastorridamesses. fora descriptionof the seasons.In the firsteditionof that work( 556),
3) Dat musto gravidasautumnuspomiferuvas. however,there is no separatepassagedevotedto the seasons.On fol.
4) Vis hiemis glacie currentesalligatundas. 405r, under the heading "de spica," the author simply states that
In the print of Summer,Julianus's "messes" has been changed to summercan be symbolizedby a bundle of ears of corn, referringto
"messeis." the line in Ovid (attributedby Valerianusto Virgil): "stabat nuda
42 An example being the Four seasonsby Jan Sadeler after Dirck Aestas,et spiceasertagerebat."On fol. 68r, under"Aestaset hyems,"
Barendsz.(J. RichardJudson, Dirck Barendsz.1534-1592, Amster- we learnthatSummercouldbe representedby a fertilepig and Winter
dam 1970,pp. 82-84, nrs. 94-97, figs. 53-56). CesareRipa, Iconologia, by a wild boar. Attempts were made to rectify this lacuna in later
Rome 1593(reprintHildesheim& New York1970),pp. 473-76, states editions of the Hieroglyphica.The 1602 edition (Lyons) gives four
that the four seasonscan be representedby Flora, Ceres, Bacchusor "hieroglyphic"illustrationsfor the seasons: a basket of flowersfor
Pomona,and Aeolusor Vulcan.This is borneout by his descriptionof Spring, and a horn of plenty for Autumn. The printer, however,
the personificationsof the seasons:Springas a younggirl with flowers switched the symbols for Summer and Winter: a corn sheaf in a
and young animals,Summeras a young womanwith a torchand ears basket,and people at a coveredtable by a fire. New woodcuts were
of corn, Autumn as a matronwith fruit and a bunch of grapes,and made for the 1604edition (Venice),correctingthis error.

Seasons, planets and temperaments in the work of M. van Heemskerck I6I
......Asrt.i6
..' tjw S
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tera Lew, FkAw .- "".r-
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--
f*r Aw os an*/'-!s, -; r: iSMaewt
'-.hcv Aerr=<wrM-ir
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'rfr Isif~rzrns.**;A' 'fr.yzs,f/i,Pf'lts;.Y.r'ss , ,r-.;a- '

^{.v.
(.^(h/- i-.
'
fr t ps
'
: .;
20 Crispijnde Passe the ElderafterMaartende Vos, Summer,nr. 2 of a
series of Four seasons, engraving
19 Crispijnde Passe the Elder afterMaartende Vos, Spring,nr. I of a
series of Fourseasons,engraving
"'fsi/ ~
'~- *r.Yimrr s rmsaw
rr-is CI" S .4 ditw Wir ei ^n' e
2I Crispijnde Passethe Elder afterMaartende Vos, Autumn,nr. 3 of a 22 Crispijnde Passe the ElderafterMaartende Vos, Winter,nr. 4 of a
series of Fourseasons,engraving seriesof Fourseasons,engraving
ever, is not in doubt in the Four seasons of Maarten de are representedby Venus, Ceres, Bacchusand Aeolus,
Vos (figs. I9-22), which was engraved and published by all of whom we know from the Hypnerotomachia. Al-
Crispijn de Passe the Elder.43 In this series the seasons though Winter (fig. 22) certainly resembles the tradi-
43 Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. 15, p. i99, nrs. 560-63.

.......
i62 ILJA M. VELDMAN
tional old man by the fire, his attributeof the bridle

identifieshim as the kingof the winds,as does the title of
the print.44
Anotherseriesby Maartende Vos, engravedby Adri-
aen Collaert,shows the seasonsas the same four gods,
but now with the rathermore traditionalattributesof
flowers, a sheaf of corn, a sickle and fruit, a horn of
plenty, vine leaves, grapes and other fruit, and winds
and wintervegetables.45
In a series of Four seasonsdesigned by Crispijnde
Passehimselfand dated I604,46the mythologicalaspect
is underlinedby the presenceof two figuresratherthan
one: Venus and Adonis for Spring, Sol and Ceres for
Summer,Bacchusand Pomonafor Autumn,and Boreas
and Orythiafor Winter.All of them, however,have the
usual attributesof the seasons.
So Heemskerck'siconographyseems to have found
little favorwithotherartists,with the singleexceptionof
Goltzius. In additionto the fact that personificationsof
the seasonsoften took the form of classicalgods rather
than allegoricalfigures, the foundation was also laid
duringthis periodfor a quasi-realisticor genre-likecon-
ceptionof the theme. Bruegel'sdrawings(as well as his
well-knownseriesof paintings)usherin a new erain this
? .--,-. '
respect,as does the workof HendrickGoltziushimself. a ulaw dreatfcm
~-um
cr- /
r ran,t .m".. ,-,
'
In 597, eight yearsafterthe publicationof the series '-.X. !.i ffi^hf
Htgagf tz<;l i
.m } -
Mltnt .
engravedby Matham,Goltzius made drawingsfor an- 23 Jan SaenredamafterHendrickGoltzius, Winter,from a seriesof

other series of Four seasons,this time engravedby Jan Fourseasons,engraving
Saenredam.47 The seasonsarenow representedby activ-
ities appropriateto the time of year.In Springa manand
a womanare seen makingmusic, and are evidentlyem-
barkingon a "romance."The harvest is gathered in
Summer,and in Autumnwine is drunkand fruit picked.
Winter(fig. 23) is the time for enjoyingthe benefitsof
the precedingseasons:a manand a womanareseatedat 44 Pers'seditionof Ripa (op. cit., note 42) mentionsa bridleas an
attributeof Aeolus(citingBoccaccioandVirgil'sAeneid).For the bee-
a table in the companyof a figuregarlandedwith vine stung Cupid who comes complainingto Venus in the print of Spring
leaves(Autumn),and arewaitedon by a personification see the emblem by Andrea Alciati, Emblematumliber, Augsburg
of Summer. (Heynricus Steynerus) 1531, fol. E 4V, which, as Henkel & Schone, op.
cit. (note 22), pp. 1758-59, point out, is a synthesis of the story by
These four prints still retaintracesof the traditional Theocritusand an epigramfrom the AnthologiaGraeca(9:548).
personificationsof the seasons,but anotherseriesby Jan 45 Hollstein,op. cit. (note 3), vol. 4, p. 204, nrs. 457-60. There is a
SaenredamafterGoltziusis composedarounda boy and set of these printsin the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam.
46 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 198,nrs. 556-59.There is a set of these printsin
girl occupied with seasonalactivities.48In spring they the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam.
are seen going for a stroll, picking flowersand playing 47 Bartsch, op. cit. (note 25), vol. 3, nrs. 119-22. Hollstein, op. cit.
with young animals.In summerthey are out with milk (note 3), vol. 23, pp. 71-72, nrs. 93-96. For the drawings see E.K.J.
Reznicek, Die Zeichnungenvon HendrickGoltzius, 2 vols., Utrecht
pailsandsheavesof corn. In autumnthey pickfruit,and 1961, vol. i, pp. 299-300, nrs. I55-56 and figs. 303-04.
in winterthey go skating(fig. 24). In this finalprintthe 48 Bartsch,op. cit. (note 25), vol. 3, nrs. 87-90. Hollstein, op. cit.
boy and girlhavegrowninto a moreor less adultcouple, (note 3), vol. 23, pp. 67-71, nrs. 89-92.

whichparallelsthe agingprocessin the moretraditional

versions of the theme (as does the developmentfrom
"romance"to a morepermanentrelationshipsuggested
in the previousseries). Both series, incidentally,have
the same Latin inscriptions by Cornelis Schonaeus,
which is rather unusual in view of the dissimilarity
between the two sets of prints. Only the verses on the
two winter scenes differ, but the lesson is the same in
each case (notwithstandingthe skates)-winter is the
time for consumingeverythingobtainedin the preced-
ing seasons.49
Althoughthe firstseriesis relatedto the characteristic
laborsof the months,whichis only to be expectedgiven
the content of the theme, and the second series reflects
the influenceof Ripa'sIconologia,50 Goltzius,like Brue-
gel, was nevertheless paving wayfor the depictionof
the
an abstractconceptby meansof a scene from everyday
life. Beforelong this form would almostentirelysuper-
sede the intellectuallyinspiredallegory.
THE SEVEN PLANETS (figs. 25-31) Heemskerck's seven

prints of the childrenof the planets were engravedby
HermanJansz. Muller and published by Hieronymus
Cock.51The seriesis undated,but the survivingprelimi-
f... . .- .t um nary designs date from I568.52The anonymousLatin
24 Jan SaenredamafterHendrickGoltzius, Winter,from a series of
inscriptionson the printselucidatethe scenes.
24 Jan Saenredam Hendrick Wint from a seriesof In the sky at the top of each scene the god personify-
afteour
Four Goltziuasons,
seasons,
engraving ing the planetrideson a car drawnby animals(girls, in
the case of the Moon). Close by floatone or two signs of
49 The verses accompanyingSpring,Summerand Autumnrun as (Bartsch,nr. 90)

follows. Accumulanthominestotum quaecunqueper annum,
I. Humanasrecreomentes, volucresqueferasque Haec ego consumo,soli haec mihi cunctaparantur.
Omniafloriferilaetanturtemporeveris. (I consumeeverythingthat people stock throughoutthe year; it is all
(I refreshthe human spirit, as I do the birds and the wild beasts: preparedfor me alone.)
happinessis everywherein the time of flower-bearingspring.) 50 See note 42.
2. Per me largaSeres [Ceres]densis canescitaristis 51 Kerrich,op. cit. (note 3), pp. 96-98, and Hollstein,op. cit. (note
Agricolasquebeo foecundifrugibusanni. 3), vol. 8, p. 246, nrs. 431-37. There are sets in the printroom of the
(I makemunificentCereswhitewith the full earsof corn,and I delight Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam,the printroomsin Leiden and Copen-
the farmerswith the fruitsof a fertileyear.) hagen,and in the Albertina,Vienna.
3. En ego maturosAutumnusproferofructus, 52 For the drawingfor Mars(Vienna,Albertina)see Otto Benesch,
Efficioquemei ne sit spes vanacoloni. Die Zeichnungen derniederlandischen SchulendesXV. undXVI.Jahr-
(Beholdme, Autumn;I profferripefruitandensurethatthe husband- hunderts,Vienna 1928, nr. 103. For the drawingof Jupiter(Amster-
man does not hope in vain.) dam, P. de Boercollection)see Catalogusoudetekeningen:verzameling
4. (Bartsch,op. cit. (note 25), vol. 3, nr. 22) P. enN. de Boer,Laren1966,nr. 107. The drawingfor Luna(Bergues,
Accumulatavides totum quaecunqueper annum, Musee Municipal)is undated;see exhib. cat. Le seizi?mesiicle euro-
Exornantnostramglacialitemporemensam. franfaises,Paris
peen:peintureset dessinsdans les collectionspubliques
(All that you see gatheredthroughoutthe year providesus with rich I965-66, p. 128, nr. I64.
farein the seasonof icy cold.)

{* . .. .. .. ..
I64 ILJA M. VELDMAN
*
.......s :. . the zodiac, these being the so-called "houses" of the
,,
....... ,
Ri_ .Xaw !'., , '~lrno. x>ebiBg;:.*~~ 5: the plane.
.t. .S... ....... . s
:,' .,..:
^feSn planets. These

o houses
th are obtained by dividing the
,, .,rw> r' c/onc"ti celestial equator into twelve equal parts (drawing a
W .25 erma. .tr horoscope),each part being occupied by a sign of the
4* i?-
,f, F:, *_zodiac and being governed by a planet. Mercury, Venus,
ii ,j =Mars, Jupiterand Saturnrule over two houses or signs
of the zodiac,a day house and a night house. The Sun
has one house, for the day, and the Moon one for the
night.
In the lowersectionof the prints,down on earth,are
26 Hema
r Jansz.' "
Hc-u ..ofa the3orth
"children"of the planets. Since classicaltimes the
series of Seen plets egaiSun, Moon and the planetshave been creditedwith an
t ?. .""."' . influence
5 . which largely determinesthe characterand
, |?@,S
-U a physicalconstitutionof the people born under them.53
Heemskerck has depicted these children engaged in
activitiescharacteristicof their personalitiesor profes-
sions.
4,?L~R "
oQ~,
?-.
t a_ a.a,
. , . j-, a, , a The sequence of the series follows the order of the
concentric celestial spheres surrounding the earth. This
25 HermanJansz. MullerafterMaarten vanHeemskerck,
Luna(theMoon),nr. Ptolemaic system survived virtually unchanged through
I of a series of Sevenplanets,engraving
the middle ages and into the Renaissance.54 The sphere
closest to the earth is that of the Moon, which is the
:**~, starting-pointfor Heemskerck'sseries. It is followedby
""'t+i:
-tj ~'~ .'~
..... Mercury,Venus, the Sun, Mars,Jupiter,and the series
closes with Saturn.
The Moon (fig. 25) rules the sign of Cancer.People
.-.. , . born duringthis periodall appearto have somethingto
do with water,being seamen,fishermen,or people who
simplyenjoyswimming.The inscriptionexplainsthis as
_ _.~~ _ -
_]follows. "Those whose mistressis the Moon pass their
lives as if in water, due to their innate wateriness,
_ b eitherin ships or in fishing.Many are proneto
, , ,N1f K!working ~
t_' ~ ~ S i;P;l~l&,~-~~~paralysis."55
Mercury(fig. 26), which rules Virgo and Gemini,
i?t_y,': ?ii-iB,. spawns a learned and artistic company of musicians,
t 2~ ~. painters,sculptors,writers,scholarsanda doctor.How-
4 ever, there is also a merchant,who is seen countinghis
-
_
__~-~_
>~?~~ coins. "Mercurymakesintelligent, shrewd, ambitious
w
otrssu frZir 1Lcf i rs jlplgrnu}~rc, II4;so .Wdero, -di fe0rors, evni7rr
rwOp:f J~lft lS JCgt~f; akrrE;rr gzfn=N ho'wsis, 'rt pos tropraedt' wrakfi!rf
26 HermanJansz. Muller after Maartenvan Heemskerck,Mercury,nr. 2 of a 53 For the theme of the children of the planets see especially
series of Sevenplanets,engraving Hauber,Bezoldand Boll, and Seznec, op. cit. (note i).
54 See S.K. Heninger Jr., The cosmographical glass: Renaissance
diagrams of the universe, San Marino (Calif.) I977, pp. I7-2I and fig.
IOg,pp. 34-39 and fig. 28.
55 Qui Lunaehabentgenituraedominam,ob innatamillis humidi-
tatemvitamfere in aquisdegunt,nauticamexercentes,aut piscationi-
bus operamdantes.Paralysiobnoxijsunt.

Seasons, planets and temperaments in the work of M. van Heemskerck
and generouschildren who are skilled in mathematics

and whose wishes are all fulfilled.They are visionaries,
slim of build, pale, with honest eyes and to be admired
for their moderation in drinking."56
Venus's signs are Taurus and Libra (fig. 27). Her
childrenappearto be enjoyinglife to the full: making
love, eating,makingmusic,bathing,drinkingandstroll-
ing-leading a lotus-eater'sexistence, in other words.
This is explained in the inscription. "Venus is ac-
countedone of the benign planets.Those who are born
underherwill be charming,andfamousfortheirsuccess
with the fair sex. They indulge their whims, and will
sufferstomachtroubleand must takecare in what they
drink."57
The children of the Sun (fig. 28) enjoy sports and
gymnastics.Those born in the sign of Leo engage in
sword fighting, ball games, handstands,wrestlingand
acrobatics."The Sun is the life of all that lives, and he
bestowsfortunein everythingon those bornunderhim: 27 Herman Jansz. Muller after Maarten
.enus van
nr.. Heemskerck, 3 of a
business acumen. His children are lively and healthy, 7 nr. 3 of a
Heries
series of Sevenplanets,
of Seven panetssz.
Mullengravingus,
engraving
and so leave this life withouta lingeringsickbed."58
Mars (fig. 29) is a less cheerful planet altogether.
The houses he occupies are Scorpio and Aries. The
earthis the scene of rape,pillage,death,arsonand war-
fare. "Marsmakespowerful,warlike,craftyand strong
people,blindlysavage,ragingand wild, who hurlthem-
selves into danger on the slightest pretext. They are
given to primal reaction, lively, thriftless, hotheaded
and tyrannical."59
Jupiter (fig. 30), with Sagittarius and Pisces, has a
more benign influence,and his children are shown as
men of rank.An emperoris being crownedby the pope
in the presenceof a smallarmyof bishopsand cardinals.
A king dispenses justice from his throne, and in the
backgroundthere is a deer hunt, an eminently aristo-
craticpursuit."Those who areruledby Jupiterarejust,
56 Mercuriusfiliosfacit intelligentes,sagaces,aemulatores,benefi-
cos, mathematicos,voti compotes, coniectore[s], corpore graciles,
pallentes,oculorumintuitu honestos,et potus temperantiamirabiles. ef f
/.,; t,tr;, rf h
,Aurrw itra ..r*sk no tftu f,,s. -
57 Venus intersalutariasyderanumeratur;qui sub ea nati fuerint,
28 HermanJansz. MullerafterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Sol (the Sun), nr. 4 of
gratiosierunt,et mulierumgratiacelebres,genio indulgentes,labora-
bunt stomacho,et malis potionibusobnoxijerunt. a seriesof Sevenplanets,engraving
58 Sol vita viventium,dat nato felicitatemin omnibusrebus, agili-
tatem in rebus agendis, alacres et sani ut plurimum vitae huius
curriculumcitramorborumaffectionesfinientes.
59 Mars facit potentes, bellaces, versutos,validos, stolidae feroci-
tatis, insanos,indomitos,ob levissimamcausamse periculisobijcien-
tes, promptos,alacres,prodigos,iracundos,tirranos.

I66 ILJA M. VELDMAN
honest, lovers of truth, devoted to their friends, punc-

tilious in carrying out obligations towards members of
their family and the poor, and are by nature very judi-
cious and well-disposed towards all."60
The final category of people, those born in the signs of
Aries and Aquarius, are governed by Saturn (fig. 31),
and their birth horoscope looks anything but favorable.
We see invalids, the poor, the hungry and pilgrims, all
subsisting on charity. Outside a jail a gentleman is seen
lecturing a prisoner. In the background is a gallows field.
Various figures are seen working in the fields and tend-
ing livestock. "Those born under Saturn are jealous,
idle, melancholic, avaricious and deceitful. They are
dogged by bodily ills like dropsy, quartan fever and
tumors, and meet their deaths by drowning, poison or
suffocation."61
'
Heemskerck's series of The seven planets, or Children of
--w - I~rz-- r
r 7"-,r' I
the planets, broadly follows the content and composi-
29 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Mars, nr. 5 of a series tional program of the theme evolved in the fifteenth
of Sevenplanets,engraving
century, which enjoyed great popularity. Klibansky,
Panofsky and Saxl compare Heemskerck's prints with
the pen drawings by the Hausbuch Meister in Schloss
Wolfegg, and refer in particular to Saturn's children,
who they say are "grouped and characterized in exactly
the same way as the corresponding pictures in the
Hausbuch."62Although it is true that some of Saturn's
children are engaged in the same activities in the Haus-
buch, there is no feeding of the hungry, the sick and
pilgrims, the scene which occupies the most prominent
position in Heemskerck's print. Moreover, the planets
in the Hausbuch do not appear in a classical (or quasi-
classical) guise, but are unequivocally medieval, being
shown as nobles, warriors and fair damsels. Their only
attribute is a banner, and they ride on horses rather than
on cars.63
60 Iovem qui dominum habent, iusti sunt, honesti, philalethes,

*us
"
-7..
-T' fi,8 e v f _ amicitiaestudiosi,in fratrescognatoset pauperespij, naturatempera-
tissimi, ergaomnes benigni.
30 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Jupiter,nr. 6 of a 6I Saturnisunt invidi,pigri,tristes,avari,fraudulenti,i[i]s sequun-
series of Sevenplanets,engraving tur morbiex aquaintercute,quartanafebris,canceres,mortesin aquis,
venena,suffocationes.
62 Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), p. 397.
63 These drawings (Schloss Wolfegg, Fiirstlich Waldburgsche
Sammlungen)arereproducedin AlfredStange,Der Hausbuchmeister:
Gesamtdarstellung undKatalogseinerGemalde,Kupferstiche undZeich-
nungen, Baden-Baden & Strasbourg 1958, nr. I04, figs. 109-I5.

Seasons, planets and temperaments in the work of M. van Heemskerck I67
There is, however, another print series which is re-

markably similar to Heemskerck's Seven planets. It is a
series of seven woodcuts, and is attributed to Hans
Sebald Beham or Georg Pencz.64 The prints, which
were published by Albrecht Glockendon, are dated
August i, 153I, and have inscriptions consisting of four
brief lines of German verse giving the bare outline of the
characters of the children of the planets and the period
in which each planet goes round the heavens. The planet
gods, dressed in medieval costume as in the Hausbuch
Meister, are riding on cars travelling from right to left.
The associated signs of the zodiac are not floating in the
sky, but decorate the wheels of the cars.
The main points of similarity between the two series
are details of the children and their activities. Since
these details are iconographically unimportant, and
could easily have been changed by a draftsman without 4
.S-a.r,,w. af-i*
/W Tjr'wi
ulw Fr^f; WS isU fS l[ P
rf ?Y
affecting the content or the compositional program, I udlr;Jr. turfaan f/rfir r.aittr'r, rw?i; 7i r4q*:T
1f<i' WMW . pz
raf' i ees
believe that they indicate that Heemskerck used the 31 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Saturn,nr. 7 of a
seriesof Sevenplanets,engraving
Beham/Pencz woodcuts as the direct models for his own
series. Dcinl~l ourint wrh'nlt|?rcMid'
t m d s
.:." italm/
rblarul
9iit?ba?itf(rt|r gg1idt Vi b:gnidmd nta9 *n
*M9
Mercury's car, which is drawn by two cocks (fig. 32),
travels in the opposite direction in Heemskerck's print
(fig. 26), as do all the other cars. Mercury's outstretched
hand (the right hand in Beham/Pencz, the left in Heems-
kerck) suggests a direct borrowing. The lower part of
Heemskerck's print is also a more or less mirror-image
reproduction of the woodcut. Noteworthy details in-
clude the organ player, with his assistant tending the two
bellows, the astrologers indicating a spot on the celestial
globe and making measurements with compasses, the
doctor with one hand on a book, who is turning round
and peering at a urinal, the scribe, the merchant count-
ing his money, the sculptor and, in the background, the
painter with his assistant.
Jupiter (fig. 33) admittedly has fewer classical attrib-
utes in Beham/Pencz (an arrow instead of a bolt of
lightning and an eagle), but one of the two peacocks
drawing his car is looking back, as in Heemskerck (fig.
30). The uncommon motif of the servant holding out a
64 For reproductionssee W. Niemeyer,Die Planeten:siebenOrigi-

vonHansSebaldBeham:die Lebensalter
nalholzschnitte derMenschen:
zehn Holzschnittedes Monogrammisten MB nach Zeichnungenvon
TobiasStimmer,Berlinn.d. See also Pauli, op. cit. (note 20), pp. 371-
77, nrs. 904-10; Hollstein, op. cit. (note 20), vol. 3, p. 219 (under
Beham); H. Rottinger, Die Holzschnittedes Georg Pencz, Leipzig
I914, p. 36, nr. 4. 32 Hans SebaldBehamor Georg Pencz, Mercury,from a
seriesof Sevenplanets( 531), woodcut(photo:
GermanischesNationalmuseum,Nuremberg)

I68 ILJA M. VELDMAN
lltmt n:; Proig-

lwgrttAtqi i> Wailli
bsstliHatf#
t fli
IRnKbnbt& /;l;dP rolflcntat 1:
iRCdIiimif!?tff?tlbM(.-f
33 Hans Sebald Behamor Georg Pencz,Jupiter,from a 34 Hans Sebald Behamor Georg Pencz, Saturn,from a
seriesof Sevenplanets( 53 ), woodcut(photo: seriesof Sevenplanets( 531), woodcut(photo:
GermanischesNationalmuseum,Nuremberg) GermanischesNationalmuseum,Nuremberg)
bowl filled with money or gold has been retained.The in the backgroundis the gallowsfield. Heemskerckhas
similaritiesbetweenthe lowersectionsof the prints-an merely placed the well further into the background,
emperor'scoronation,the dispensationof justice, and substitutedthreshingfor wood-cutting,andomittedthe
deer hunting-are made all the more obvious for the pig's carcassand the activitieson the riverbank.
observerby the fact that therehas been no visualrever- The other woodcuts also display similar points of
sal. agreement.One of Heemskerck's"major"departures
Saturn(fig. 34) is remarkablysimilarin Heemskerck's fromthe Beham/Penczseriesis in his printof the Moon
print (fig. 31) in the way he is devouringthe child. The (fig. 25), where he has added a fishing boat and fisher-
boy on the box seat is also claspinghis head in despair, men, which he borrowedfrom Raphael's Miraculous
and therearetwo dragonsas draftanimals.Once again,a draftoffishes.Otherelementsin the serieswhicharedue
"prison visitor" is addressinga man in the stocks, a to Heemskerck'sstay in Rome (1532-36) are the gods'
second prisoneris peeringthroughthe bars, a monk is attributesand their generalappearance,which is closer
ladlingout gruel from a large caldronfor pilgrimsand to the classicalmodel.
the poor,a child graspshungrilyat a piece of bread,pigs Since Heemskerckbased his iconographyalmostex-
are being slaughtered,a figureis ploughinga field, and clusivelyon the Beham/Penczseries,thereis little point

Seasons, planetsand temperamentsin the workof M. van Heemskerck I69
in makingan iconographicanalysisof such elementsas second chapteris a guide to a person'sconstitutionand

the animalspulling the variouscars.65The woodcutsof character(men and womenbeing dealt with separately)
the Childrenof theplanetswerereprintedregularlyafter on the basis of the month of birth. The third chapter
1531,but with varyinginscriptions.The compositionof providessimilarinformation,but this time basedon the
thatseriesis itself basedon a seriesof Florentineengrav- seven planets. Anyone readingthe presentarticle who
ings attributedto BaccioBaldini.66The drawingsof the was underthe impressionthat it was possible by taking
HausbuchMeisterareveryfreerenderingsof a German one's birthdayto identify one's planetary"parent"on
series of Sevenplanetsin block-bookform which, with the basis of the houses of the planets in Heemskerck's
certainalterations,is also tracedbackto the Florentine prints is in for a disappointment.Things are a little bit
engravings.67 moredifficultthanthat,or at leastaccordingto the Nyen
This was not the first time that Heemskerckdrew complexie-boeck they are.
his inspirationfrom German prints. His Triumphsof First one has to write down one's own forenameand
Petrarch,which was engraved by Philips Galle from that of one's father, both in the Latin form. One then
preliminarydesignsmadein I565, is basedon a seriesof turns to a table, which gives a number for each letter.
printsof the samenameby GeorgPencz,andis alsovery Next sum all the figuresand divide the result by nine.
close in the minor details.68 The remainderleft after division is then looked up in
It is noteworthythatthe textson Heemskerck'sSeven anothertable,whereit correspondsto the nameof one of
planets, which would not really be out of place in a the planets. Just to make matters even more compli-
modernillustratedmagazine,are not so much descrip- cated,the followingchaptersets out a similarprocedure
tions of the visualelementsof the printsas of the char- (this time using the mother'sname and employingan-
acter traits of the children, generally combined with other divisor)for discoveringthe sign of the zodiacone
informationon their appearanceand state of health. was bornunder,this being importantfor foretellingthe
This is preciselythe sort of "medical"informationthat future. Predictionsconcerningmoney, health and suc-
one encountersin the popularastrologicalliteratureof cess are found in the next chapter,which is devoted to
the day.69 the thirty-sixconstellations.This is followed by a sec-
One such planetarybooklet is Een nyen complexie- tion on the fourtemperaments,but this canbetterbe left
boeckof 1564(Antwerp,JanRoelants),which is a virtu- to the discussionof the next seriesof prints by Heems-
ally unalteredreprintof the Nieu complexieboeckissued kerck.
by the same publisherin I554.70The book contains a
detailedguide to a person'sappearanceand character, THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS (I566) (figs. 35-38)
and foretells his or her future. The first chapterdeals A person'smentaland physicalconstitutioncould also
with physiognomy,which apparentlyhas some pretty be determinedon the basis of the four temperaments,
ominous implications for a person's character. The the definitions of which were laid down in classical
65 Most of the gods'attributesandtheirdraftanimalscanbe found, 68 See Veldman, op. cit. (note 5), p. Io6. For Heemskerck's
with or withoutan explanation,in Carelvan Mander'sUutlegghingop Triumphs ofPetrarchsee Kerrich,op. cit. (note3), p. 8i, andHollstein,
denMetamorphosis Pub. OvidijNasonisand his Uutbeeldinge derfigue- op. cit. (note 3), vol. 8, p. 244, nrs. 341-46. For Pencz's Triumphsof
ren, Haarlem(Paschiervan Westbusch) I604: fol. 53r for the Moon Petrarchsee Bartsch,op. cit. (note 25), vol. 8, pp. 357-58, nrs. I17-23.
(Diana);fols. 9r and I27rfor Mercury;fol. 3or for Venus; fol. I3v for 69 See Hauber,op. cit. (note I), p. 269 forthe titlesof some German
the Sun; fol. t26v for Mars; fols. 6r and i26v for Jupiter;and fol. 4r planetarybookletsand some sales figures.
for Saturn(in the caseof Saturnsee also Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, 70 Een nyencomplexie-boeck dermenschennatuere,gheboorte,seaen,
op. cit. (note 2), pp. 198-214). It seemsthatvan Mander'sinformation ghelaet,ghevaerendegheneygentheden: uutdephysionomie endeden VII
is basedon pictorialexamplesas well as on the traditionalmythological planeten,uutdieXII teekenenendedeXXXVI beeldendeshemels,oocna
ideas enshrinedin the Ovide moraliseand in works such as Natale die XII maenden:van de viercomplexien dermenschen;eencortbericht
Conti, Mythologiae,sive explicationesfabularum, ed. pr. 155 . uut die astronomie,Antwerp(Jan Roelants) I564. There is a copy of
66 F. Lippmann,Die siebenPlaneten,Berlin 1895, p. I3. The long this booklet,whichis unpaginated,in the UniversityLibrary,Amster-
inscriptionfound in one of the Germaneditions of Beham/Penczis dam.The greaterpartof the bookletwill alsobe foundin the Planeten-
alsoapparentlybasedon the inscriptionson the Florentineengravings. boeck,Amsterdam(HermanJansz. Muller) 1528, amplefiedwith in-
67 Ibid., p. 12. formationon variousother subjects,includingpalmistry.

I70 ILJA M. VELDMAN
times. The system was basedon the four kindsof fluid,

or humors,secretedby the humanbody: blood, choler,
blackbile and phlegm. Depending on the relativepre-
ponderanceof these humors one spoke of a person
havinga sanguine,choleric,melancholicor phlegmatic
temperament.Specificphysicalcharacteristicswere as-
sociatedwith eachtype, and with the rise of astrologyin
the middleageseachtemperamentwassupposedto give
rise to certaincharactertraitsas well.71
Heemskerck'sseries of Four temperaments was en-
gravedby Herman Muller, who also his
produced Seven
planets.The seriesis dated 1566,but thereis no mention
of the publisher.72As in the case of the Fourseasons,it
appearsthatHadrianusJuniuswasthe authorof the two
lines of Latin verseat the bottomof each print.73
The orderof the printsfollowsthe traditional,classi-
cal system, which also embracedthe seasons and the
elements: sanguine/spring/air/warm and damp; cho-
leric/summer/fire/hotand dry; melancholic/autumn/
35 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Thesanguine earth/coldand dry; and phlegmatic/winter/water/cold
nr. I of a series of Fourtemperaments
temperament, ( 566), engraving and damp.
As noted by Klibansky, Panofsky and Saxl, if the
printshad not been providedwith titles andinscriptions
one would almostthink that the subjectswere children
of the planets.74The compositionis remarkablysimilar
to that of the previousseries.A planetis seen up in the
clouds, three signs of the zodiac float in the sky, and
71 For an excellenttreatmentof the doctrineof the temperaments

in antiquitysee ElisabethC. Evans,Physiognomics in theancientworld,
Philadelphia1969(Transactionsof the AmericanPhilosophicalSoci-
ety, vol. 59, new series). My thanks to H.W. van Helsdingen for
drawingmy attentionto this work. See also Klibansky,Panofsky&
Saxl,op. cit. (note2), pp. 3-66 (forthe classicalperiod)andpp. 67-123
(for the middle ages).
72 Kerrich,op. cit. (note3), p. 99; Hollstein,op. cit. (note 3), vol. 8,
p. 246, nrs. 438-4I. There aresets of this seriesin the printroomof the
Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam,the printroomat Dresden, and in the
Albertinain Vienna.The preliminarydrawingfor Thecholerictemper-
ament,which is dated 1565, is in the Yale University Art Gallery,
New Haven(see Yale UniversityArt GalleryBulletin30, nr. 2 (i965),
p. 12, and E. HaverkampBegemann& Anne Marie S. Logan, Euro-
peandrawingsandwatercolors in the YaleUniversityArt Galleryi5oo-
i9oo, vol. i, New Haven & London 1970, pp. 178-79, nr. 328. The
../(hwSbibn, PbWKmum,e L*?AgON
drawingfor Thephlegmatictemperament, whichis alsodated 1565,was
Ln^^^^^^SI^Sa^^wtf fmn, auctionedat Sotheby'son March23, 1963, andis now in the collection
36 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Thecholeric of Mrs. HarmsSchaeffer,New York.
temperament,nr. 2 of a series of Four temperaments (1566), engraving 73 Junius,op. cit. (note4), pp. 158-59,underthe title "In quaternas
pinaceshominumtemperaturascomplexas"(The humanconstitution
containedin four illustrations).
74 Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), p. 397.

Seasons, planets and temperaments in the work of M. van Heemskerck I7I
downon earthpeopleareengagedin activitiesspecificto

their temperament.
Venus and Jupiter dominate the Sanguinetempera-
ment(fig. 35), alongwith the signs of Libra,Geminiand
Aquarius. Sanguine people are evidently fond of the
same pastimesas Venus's children.They dance, go for
strolls, make music, court, eat, drink and bathe. The
Latingloss on the scene is succinct."Those who engage
in choraldanceand seek the delightsof secretlove, it is
righteousJupiterwho cherishesthem, as does graceful
Venus."75
Those of a Choleric temperament (fig. 36) follow
Mars'sbanner.Their signs are Aries, Leo and Sagitta-
rius, and like Mars's children their occupationis war.
"The frenzyof the warlikerabble,fire,battleandslaugh-
ter, these belong to the realm of Mars, their heart-
rending and bloody master."76
The Melancholic temperament(fig. 37) is governed by
Saturn,withthe signsof Taurus,VirgoandAries.How-
ever, people of a melancholydispositiondo not follow
the patternof "true"childrenof Saturn,whoseinterests 37 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Themelancholic
are agricultureand livestock,or who are poor, ill or in nr. 3 of a seriesof Fourtemperaments
temperament, (1566), engraving
prison.Here they are scientists,notablygeometersand
astrologers,and they are prone to suicide by hanging
(and here there is a parallel with the inscription on
Heemskerck'sChildrenof Saturn). Junius is less than
flattering."Surveyorsandpoets,andthosewho havenot
one iota of commonsense, it is they who are chosen by
the scythe-bearing Saturn."77
The Moon dominates the Phlegmatic temperament
(fig. 38), which has the signs of Cancer, Pisces and
Scorpio.As was the case with the childrenof the Moon,
the scene is dominatedby water and wateryactivities.
"O Moon, in yourrealmthe one sets his knottynets for
fish, the othersnaresfor birds, and yet anotherploughs
the briny deep."78
In contrastto the theme of the childrenof the planets,

the pictorialprogramof the four temperamentsunder-
75 Qui choreasagitantet dulciafurtapetessunt

Juppiterhos aequusfovet, ac Citheraeavenusta.
76 Armorumrabies,incendia,praelia,strages
LuctiferumagnoscuntMartem,dominumquecruentum. 38 HermanJansz. Muller afterMaartenvan Heemskerck,Thephlegmatic
77 Mensoresterrae,vates Saturnusadoptat nr. 4 of a seriesof Fourtemperaments
temperament, (1566), engraving
Falciger,et quibus est sananulla uncia mentis.
78 Luna tuo in regno, nodosahic retia pandit,
Piscibushic volucripedicas,ille aequorasulcat.

172 ILJA M. VELDMAN
went considerablechange down the centuries. As a Heemskerck'schoice of planet gods, however,is not
result of their affinitywith the virtues and vices they so straightforward.Accordingto the Nyen complexie-
were generallydepicted in the traditionof Vincent of boeck,the temperamentsare governed by the planets
Beauvais'sSpeculummorale.There were two types: a which have their "house"in the signs of the zodiacap-
single figure whose posture, age, facial expression or propriateto each element. As a result, sanguinepeople
attributesidentifiedthe temperament,or a scene with are underthe influenceof Mercury,Venus and Saturn,
morethan one figure(often a man and a woman)carry- choleric people are under Mars, the Sun and Jupiter,
ing out an activityspecificallyassociatedwith the tem- melancholy people are under Venus, Mercury and
perament.79The characteristicsof each temperament Saturn, and phlegmaticpeople are under the Moon,
were based on standardformulae,particularlyin the Marsand Jupiter.
fifteenth century. The sanguine type is pleasant, lov- Heemskerck,though,seemsto havechosenhis planet
able, and is fond of the pleasuresof life, the choleric gods on the basisof the propertiesthey havein common
person is short-temperedand pugnacious,melancholy with the elements.Those propertiesalso correspondto
people are sad and jealous,and the phlegmatictype is the characteristicsof their children,as describedabove.
sluggishand lazy. Cholericpeople, who areassociatedwith the elementof
Heemskerckdeviates from this programby placing fireand the propertyof hot and dry, arerepresentedby
the temperamentsunderthe spheresof influenceof the Mars, which was regardedas a searingand desiccating
planets.In both contentand formthe seriesis veryclose planetwhosechildrenhadthe pugnacioustemperament
to the theme of the childrenof the planets. traditionallyassociatedwith the choleric type. Phleg-
As alreadynoted, the associationof a temperament maticpeople,who arecoupledwith waterand the prop-
with a planetwasdue to the astrologicalideasof the day. erty of cold and damp, were best served by the Moon,
For example,it is explainedin the Opusmathematicum of which astrologersregarded as a moistening celestial
Johannes Taisnier (Cologne I562), which provided a body. Heemskerck'sphlegmatic temperamentconse-
detailedguide to physiognomy,palmistry,planets and quentlydifferslittle fromthe childrenof the Moon. The
temperaments,that a person's temperamentis partly sanguinetype, warmand dampand associatedwith air,
governedby the dominantplanetat the time of birth,or is best representedby Venus,a warmingandmoistening
by the ascendantin that person'shoroscope.80 planet.Venus'shigh-spiritedchildrencorrespondclose-
The signs of the zodiac accompanyingthe tempera- ly to the traditional,amoroussanguinetype, and there-
ments in Heemskerck'sprints do not correspond,as fore have the same characteristics.What is less clear is
they sometimesdo,81with the appropriateseason, nor why Venus should be accompaniedby Jupiter. This
are they dictated by the position of the moon during may be explained by Jupiter's nature as an equable
bloodletting, as Klibansky, Panofsky and Saxl have planet,whichfits in well with the traditionalconception
stated.82They are simply arrangedaccording to the of the healthiestof the temperaments.Anotherpossible
traditionalsystemof air, fire,earthand watersigns, and explanationis that Jupiter, as we have seen, was the
correspondto the element belongingto each tempera- patronof the more genteel type of personand of those
ment. who enjoy life, as Heemskerck'ssanguinetypes do. It
79 Klibansky, Panofsky & Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), pp. 291-303 and The foundationfor this theorywaslaid by MarsilioFicino'sDe vita
triplici;see Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), pp. 254-74.
figs. 84-90; E. Panofsky & F. Saxl, Dirers Melencolia I: eine quellen-
und typengeschichtliche Untersuchung, Leipzig 1923 (Studien der Bi- 8I See, for example,E. Jeanselme& L. Oeconomos,"Des signesdu
bliothekWarburg),and E. Panofsky,AlbrechtDiirer,Princeton1948, zodiaqueet de leur influencesur les quatrehumeursde l'organisme,"
pp. 158-60 and figs. 210-20. Aesculape,new series i6 (1926), pp. Io8-io.
80 IoannesTaisnerius,Opusmathematicum, octolibroscomplectens 82 Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit.,(note 2), p. 397, note 72.
innumerispropemodum figuris idealibusmanumet physiognomiae,Co- The practiseof bloodlettingwas, however,governedby the relation-
logne (Ioannes Birckmannusand Wernerus Rickwinus) 1562, pp. ship between the signs of the zodiac and the four elements. When
522ff(Joh. Indagine,"In librumde pernoscendisplanetishoroscopo- blood was let from a melancholyperson, for which the element is
rum et signorumascendentiumex quatuorcomplexionibus,1552"),a earth,the moon had to be in one of the earthsigns: Taurus, Virgoor
copy of which is in the libraryof the WarburgInstitute, London. Capricorn.

should be noted that sanguine people were often de- So there is no mention of the positive side of the
picted as aristocrats,who were certainly in a better melancholictemperamentin the type of Dutch plane-
position to enjoy life than the lower classes. tarybookdescribedhere,andsincethe entirevisualpro-
Melancholypeopleareassociatedwith the elementof gramof Heemskerck'sFourtemperaments is based on a
earthand the propertycold and dry. This traditionally pictorialmodel (his Sevenplanets),it seems thathe must
placed them under the influence of Saturn, who was have takenthe idea for his geographersand astrologers
conrsideredto be cooling and moderatelydesiccating, from other depictions. In addition to Diirer there are
and who was also the god of agriculture.In this case, prints of the melancholictemperamentby the Master
though,Heemskerckhas not basedhis depictionon that AC, Hans SebaldBeham(I539), and Virgil Solis, all of
of the children of Saturn. People feeding beggarsand which contain depictionsof these scientists or of their
the sickandworkingthe landhavemadewayfor geogra- attributes:compasses,sextant,quadrant,and terrestrial
phers, astrologersand suicides. and celestialglobes.85
Heemskerck'schoice of geographersand astrologers HadrianusJunius'sversesareneithera popularnor a
as representativesof melancholywas rather advanced scientifictreatmentof the theme (andas a doctorhe was
for the day. In their discussionof Diirer's MelencoliaI, certainlyfully acquaintedwith the medicalsignificance
Panofskyand Saxl have dealt at length with the altered of the humors),but aremerelya briefdescriptionof the
view of the melancholic temperament after i500.83 visualelement.
Saturn'spositionas the paramountplanet (in the sense Given the fact that the design of Heemskerck'sFour
that it occupied the outermostplanetarysphere in the temperaments was inspired by his Seven planets, one
Ptolemaicsystem) and the oldest of the gods accounts would imagine that the latter was created first. The
for his positive role in stimulatingintellectualperfor- reverse,however,is the case.The drawingsfor the Four
mance.When Saturnwas in conjunctionwithJupiterin temperaments date from 565, and those for the Seven
a horoscope his influence could lead to outstanding planetsfrom 1568.Clearly,then, Heemskerckmusthave
artisticand scientificachievements.84 The main repre- known of the Beham/Penczwoodcuts for some years
sentativeof science in the melancholictemperamentis before he actuallystartedon his own depictionsof the
the typusgeometriaedescribedby Marsilio Ficino and planets.
Agrippa von Nettesheim, in which the associationof
Saturn with agriculture(part of which involves the Someremarkson thejunctionoJtheprints Neither the
measurementandsubdivisionof land)alsoplayeda role. Four seasonsnor the Four temperaments have a pub-
The intellectual representativeof the melancholic lisher's imprint,and these happento be the two series
temperamentwas evidently not favored in the more with verses by HadrianusJunius. Their iconographyis
populartreatmentof the theme. The Nyen complexie- also far more distinctiveand originalthan that of the
boeckadheresto the traditionaltype of person: ailing, Sevenplanets.This suggeststhat both series were pub-
avaricious,sad, unfaithful,dishonest, sluggish, with a lished in Haarlem,either by Heemskerckhimself or at
sensitive stomachand too fond of drink. Although the an unregisteredprint publishinghouse (possiblyat the
melancholyperson may not have been "sexuallypro- "printshop" run by Philips Galle).86
miscuous,"his wasstill "the leastnobleof the humors." The Seven planets was published by Hieronymus
According to the Nyen complexie-boeck, melancholy Cock, and it seems very likely that it was he who com-
people have the same appearanceand nature as the missionedthe series. It is difficultto assess what effect
childrenof Saturn,who "seldomcome to a good end." this might have had on the iconography.Muller's en-
This also explainswhy peopleareshownhangingthem- gravings appear more slipshod than those which he
selves in Heemskerck'sprint, which is due to the basic made for the Four temperaments. The inscriptionsare
sadnessof the melancholictype. not in verse, and merelyprovidethe viewer with fairly
83 Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 79). 85 Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), figs. 14, I15 and
84 Klibansky, Panofsky & Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), p. 278, and 19-22.
Taisnerius,op. cit. (note 80), p. 532. 86 See Veldman,op. cit. (note 5), pp. io6-o8.

'74 ILJA M. VELDMAN
basic informationin dog-Latin. The traditionaldesign

of Heemskerck'sSevenplanets,which was imitatedand
variedat will throughoutthe sixteenth century, might
indicatethat Cock intendedthe series as a visual guide
for analyzingcharacterand health,alongthe lines of the
popularplanetarybooklets.It wouldcertainlyhavebeen
a commerciallyattractiveproposition,and the artistic
work involved would not need to have been of the
highest quality.
However,a printseriesof this sortmaywell havebeen
more than just a straightforwarddescriptionof charac-
ter and appearance.We learnfrom the forewordto the
Nyen complexie-boeck (a paraphraseof which was in-
cluded in the Planeten-boeck of I628), that descriptions
of temperamentsand childrenof the planetscould have
an educationaland moralistic significance(as was so
often the case in the sixteenth century). This is illus-
tratedby a storytakenfromAristotle.It seemsthatHip-
pocrates'spupils had a portraitmade of their teacher.
They showedit to Philemon,a philosopherexperienced
in the reading of physiognomy,who immediatelyde-
scribed Hippocratesas a fraud and a voluptuary.The
pupilsindignantlytold theirteacherof this, but Hippo-
crates told them that Philemon was absolutely right.
However, he went on, it was entirelydue to his reason
P ' Sl-'i--frl-
rP 'v*RLN
S AtSfs t-- ~jFl..-e~
that he was able to suppresshis "naturaltendenciesand
evil desires" and to benefit from "good advice and 39 AdriaenCollaertafterMaartende Vos, Saturn,nr. 7 of a series
instruction." of Sevenplanets( 581), engraving
The anonymous author then consoles those born
under an evil star by emphasizingthat these negative
traitsare merelyinborn,and that they can be overcome
by exerciseof one's reason,whichis why God has given
man a soul. So we must not judge a persontoo harshly
simplybecauseof the evil in his stars,forhe canimprove
himself. On the other hand, it is not permissiblefor a
thief to plead in mitigationthat he is a thief by nature
(i.e. blamingit on his stars).Since the bookletis patently
intended to provide "advice and instruction,"it may
well be that this aspect is not entirely absent from this seriesthe planetsarepresentedas representativesof
Heemskerck'sSevenplanetsand Fourtemperaments. the sevenagesof man(andthis is emphasizedon the title
sheet of the series), beginning with Luna as Infancy
SubsequentdevelopmentoJ the themes Heemskerck's (Infantia)and ending with Saturn(fig. 39) as Decrepit
imitative series of Seven planetsis one of the last ex- Old Age (Senectaet decrepita).In each print, b/elowthe
amplesof this iconographicform.As an artisticexercise planetgods floatingin the clouds,thereare two striking
it declined in popularitycomparedto a theme like the figureswho personifythe appropriateage of man and
Fourseasons.In 1581AdriaenCollaertdesigneda series its distinctive feature.The traditionalactivitiesof the
of Seven planetsafter a design by Maartende Vos. In children of the planets are only depicted in the back-

.
ground, but the inscriptions make no reference to

them.87
Once again, however, it was Goltzius who came up
with a new compositionalprogramin which the planets
appearin a remarkablyrealisticsetting. In a series of
Seven planets engravedby Jan Saenredamand dated
i596,88Goltzius replacedthe-gods floatingin the sky
withclassicalstatueson pedestals.The people depicted
at the feet of the sculpturesappearto be involvedmore
or less by chancein activitieswhich harmonizewith the
setting, and only the signs of the zodiac floatingin the
sky identify.the subjectas the specificspheresof influ-
ence of heavenlybodies.It is noteworthythatGoltzius's
Childrenof Saturn(fig. 40) displaynone of the saturnine
characteristics,either positive or negative, described
above.They arehappilyworkingon the land, thus fully
reflectingthe originalsignificanceof Saturnas the god of
agriculture.Schonaeus'sinscriptionrefersto the golden
age under Saturn.
The sameis in effecttrue of Heemskerck'sversionof
the Four temperaments. Despite his introductionof a
formalprogramwhich is novel for the theme, the close
affinitywith the form of the childrenof the planetswas
decidedlyold-fashioned,and the series appearsto have
generatedfew imitations.Once again,the allegoricalap- I
{f rua nmeJ J7 0 rSMU 9Sl
ron'nlf,if _/fr?w/lff
ywrt.wi/r frrnrS '
proach,with its echoesof the fifteenth-centuryprogram .wr,, ..rcntrf rITflfr .
.....f.'VtS .
: tF:.:.
frwIr l
of pairsof figures,gave way to a genre-liketreatment. 40 Jan SaenredamafterHendrickGoltzius, Saturn,froma seriesof

Artistscontinuedto depictthe temperamentsin associa- Sevenplanets( 596), engraving
tion with the elementsof water,air, fire and earth,but ....... ...
,". .............'.
_? ?;
. -:..
? AN
1@ C ..C11!:>L
I CV S
omittedthe signs of the zodiaclest they should marthe

"realistic"effect. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?~~~k.
-e
An exampleof this is the seriesof Fourtemperaments

engravedby Pieterde Jode I afterMaartende Vos,89in
whicheach temperamentis representedby a man and a
womaneitherof a particularprofessionor carryingout a
particularaction. The merry duo of sanguine types
(whose dress identifies them as members of the more
87 This series, which is hardly mentioned in the literature,was

boughtby the printroomof the Rijksmuseumin FebruaryI981. I will
be devotinga separatearticleto this series in a forthcomingissue of
the Bulletinvan het Rijksmuseum.
88 Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. 8, p. 135, nrs. 358-64 (the date
"1569", though,shouldbe regardedas a printingerror).There is a set ti , ~;r"n ,.
,r"--"~-',,..*,frr,, w
n.e?,.r,- [,ar. , f _,..c.. _,,-w Jr,I,
of theseprintsin the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam.For . ..t. -. w w:
h e nrr
^t...e.meament:.
1... ..r from iaafte
ar- seri- M 'ofa F dei
te Vo, .
the drawingssee Reznicek,op. cit. (note 47), nrs. 143-46.
89 Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. 9, p. 205, nrs. IOI-05. There is a 41 Pieter de Jode I afterMaartende Vos, Themelancholic
set in the printroomof the Rijksmuseum,Amsterdam. temperament, from a seriesof Fourtemperaments,
engraving

176
prosperous classes) are making music. The choleric -Theconclusionis perhapsa little disappointing.Despite
couple, who are governed by fire, are presented as a his introductionof a numberof new iconographicele-
warriorand a female sutler, and the two phlegmatic ments, Heemskerckevidently set no trends with his
types, who are associatedwith water,are depicted as a cosmo-astrologicalallegories,nor do the prints display
fisherman and a fishwife. The Melancholic temperament any deep scientificknowledgeof the themes. With the
(fig.41) is illustratedas an oldermanofferingmoneyand possible exception of the personificationsof the four
jewelryto a listless young womanlost in thought.90 seasonsandtheirdualfunctionas ages,Heemskerckwas
The Four temperaments of Jacob de Gheyn II also clearly more interestedin visual presentationthan in
appearat firstsight to be "scenesfromeverydaylife."91 literaryconcepts.Given the largeeditions (most of the
A lute-player,a soldier and a fishermanrepresentthe majorprintroomshaveone or moreof these threeseries)
sanguine, choleric and phlegmatic temperamentsre- and the generalesteemin whichHeemskerck'scontem-
spectively. Only Melancholy,the temperamentwhich porariesheld his graphicart,92there can be no doubt
gaverise to the greatesticonographicvariation,deviates that his printswere popularwith the sixteenth-century
from the earthlysetting. Insteadwe see a huge, majes- public. True iconographicinnovation, however, was
tic Saturn,enthronedon the globe, leaninghis head on reservedfor laterartists.
one hand and holdingcompassesin the other.
INSTITUTE FOR ART HISTORY

UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM
90 Klibansky,Panofsky& Saxl, op. cit. (note 2), p. 396 believethat 91 Hollstein, op. cit. (note 3), vol. 7, p. 134, nrs. 125-28; Klibansky,
the man's action suggests an ill-matched couple. In my opinion, Panofsky& Saxl, pp. 398-99.
though, the dilapidatedalchemicalequipmentbeside the womancan 92 In 1570 Heemskerckwas granted dispensation from paying
equallywell be an allusionto a fruitlessrequestby the manto havethe municipaltax by the Haarlemauthorities"propterartemgraphicam
money and jewels transformedinto gold. The listless woman would in qua excelluit ("in recognitionof his graphicart, in which he ex-
then representthe frustratedgenius of alchemy, along the lines of celled"), Theodorus Schrevelius, Harlemumsive urbisHarlemensis,
Diirer'sMelencoliaI. I have been unableto inspect a second seriesof Leiden (SeverinusMatthai)I647 (dedication).See also Veldman,op.
Temperaments mentionedby the authors.That serieswas engravedby cit. (note 5), p. i6.
Jan SadelerafterMaartende Vos.


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Seasons, Planets and Temperaments in the Work of Maarten van Heemskerck Cosmo-

Astrological Allegory in Sixteenth-Century Netherlandish Prints

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Seasons,planetsand temperamentsin the workof

The classificationof humancharacterand physicalfea- largelyruled by these signs.

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male personificationsin a landscape.Floatingin the sky

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fallto the scythe,the grassin the meadowis mowed,and

cationsin classicaltimes. Initiallythey were presented

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5 Jacob Mathamafter HendrickGoltzius, Spring,nr. i of a seriesof 6 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Summer,nr. 2 of a series

7 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Autumn,nr. 3 of a series 8 Jacob MathamafterHendrickGoltzius, Winter,nr. 4 of a series of

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9 MasterA.P., Summer(from a seriesof Fourseasons),woodcut(photo: BritishMuseum, London)

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14-I7 Spring,Summer,Autumnand Winter,woodcutsfrom the Hypnerotomachia

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I8 Pietervan der Heyden afterPieterBruegel,Summer

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'rfr Isif~rzrns.**;A' 'fr.yzs,f/i,Pf'lts;.Y.r'ss , ,r-.;a- '

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i62 ILJA M. VELDMAN

tional old man by the fire, his attributeof the bridle

engravedby Matham,Goltzius made drawingsfor an- 23 Jan SaenredamafterHendrickGoltzius, Winter,from a seriesof

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whichparallelsthe agingprocessin the moretraditional

THE SEVEN PLANETS (figs. 25-31) Heemskerck's seven

49 The verses accompanyingSpring,Summerand Autumnrun as (Bartsch,nr. 90)

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I64 ILJA M. VELDMAN

^feSn planets. These

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and generouschildren who are skilled in mathematics

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honest, lovers of truth, devoted to their friends, punc-

60 Iovem qui dominum habent, iusti sunt, honesti, philalethes,

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There is, however, another print series which is re-

64 For reproductionssee W. Niemeyer,Die Planeten:siebenOrigi-

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lltmt n:; Proig-

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in makingan iconographicanalysisof such elementsas second chapteris a guide to a person'sconstitutionand

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times. The system was basedon the four kindsof fluid,

71 For an excellenttreatmentof the doctrineof the temperaments

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downon earthpeopleareengagedin activitiesspecificto

In contrastto the theme of the childrenof the planets,

75 Qui choreasagitantet dulciafurtapetessunt

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