Ceres Changing Stellio into a Lizard, after Jan van de Velde

In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, after the abduction of Proserpina, her mother, Ceres, lit a torch with the fires of Etna and set out to find her. Reaching the house of an old woman, she slaked her thirst with such avidness that a boy, Stellio, mocked her. Furious, Ceres cast grain at him, transforming him into a lizard. The subject, a metaphor of the elements and processes of nature, was popular around the turn of the century in Holland. Here, Akersloot was interpreting a design by Jan van de Velde and drawing inspiration from a nocturnal engraving by Hendrik Goudt, but bringing his own charming observation and miniaturist’s touch. The print is very rare, and effective only in such a fine impression. Most of Akersloot’s plates are reproductive of portrait paintings. Steinberg acquired an equally rare and fine impression of his Amalia, Princess of Solms with Her Children.