Moral Emblems: The Sinking Pleasures

Engraving, part of a set of 20 moral emblems, each designated by a letter of the alphabet. The set was designed by Jean Delaune and engraved by his father, Étienne Delaune, in 1580. It explores the theme of vanity in mundane things, denouncing the artifices of the world (beauty, pleasure, luxury...), and praising virtue. This print represents a maritime landscape with a shipwreck, one of its occupants drowning next to it, bordered by a palace, on the right, its windows revealing a sumptuous banquet taking place behind its walls. A couple of lovers dressed in lavish costumes walks with a dog in front of the caselte, while a male philosopher, dressed in draping garments, looks at them. The allegorical meaning of this print is closely related to the one labelled "I" in the same series: a carefree and wealthy couple thinking only about their pleasures, and ignoring the irreparable fate to which they are condemned for their behavior, represented here by the shipwreck.