![Vanitas Vanitatum et Omnia Vanitas [Vanity of Vanity, All is Vanity], after Abraham Bloemaert](/internal/media/dispatcher/30589/preview)
![Vanitas Vanitatum et Omnia Vanitas [Vanity of Vanity, All is Vanity], after Abraham Bloemaert](/internal/media/dispatcher/30589/full)
Vanitas Vanitatum et Omnia Vanitas [Vanity of Vanity, All is Vanity], after Abraham Bloemaert
Primary
Jan Saenredam
(Zaandam, The Netherlands, circa 1565–Assendelft, The Netherlands, 1607)
NationalityDutch, Europe
Date1600
MediumEngraving
DimensionsSheet: 14 13/16 × 12 5/8 in. (37.7 × 32 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.2268
Keywords
Rights Statement
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2002.2268
On View
Not on viewA beautiful female personification clasps and counts a variety of precious objects. The extravagant enframing inscription underscores the significance of the image: the vanity of worldly possessions. Beyond this explicit content, the sheer refinement of technique and elegance of calligraphy create an inescapable irony and reflexive meaning: can one attend such a print any differently from the way Vanity does her objects? Saenrendam’s engraving is a masterpiece of Dutch Mannerism and a timeless emblem of the precariousness of material attachment.
Exhibitions
