The Months: November

Engraving, part of a set of 9 (from a total of 12) allegorical prints illustrating the months of the year, the first of several series created by Delaune representing the months. Each print consists of an ornamental frame with strapwork and figurative motifs that symbolize the activities related with the month, the astrological sign associated with the month in its summit, and a scroll with an inscription in Latin on the bottom. Inside the frame is a scene representing the proper occupations of each month based on the medieval iconography of the labors of the months, the main source of inspiration being the "Compost et Kalendrier des Bergers" (first published in 1491 and later reedited in 1541), reworked with the introduction of humanist themes and a critique of the social order. The inscriptions in the frames are poetic descriptions of the different states of nature and somewhat establish a kind of parallel with the progression of the allegories in the images, but they do not seem to reflect the allegorical sense of illustrations, many of which illustrate the misfortune of the poor and the banality of the rich. Additional inscriptions, hand-written with pen, are on the bottom of each print, below the illustrated plate.



This print represents the month of November, with the symbol of Sagittarius, attribute of the month, inside a strapwork cartouche on the summit of the frame, flanked to the sides by two pigs eating from a trough, half-hidden by the scrolling strapwork that makes up the body of the frame. To their sides are two men, laying on the floor, holding with their arms two trophies that decprate the lateral panels of the frame, made up of a bundle of flowers and leaves and an ox scull. The cartouche with the inscription on the bottom panel of the frame is also flanked to the sides by three pigs eating from a trough, also half-hidden by scrolling motifs with grotesques in profile, which decorate the bottom corners of the frame.



The main scene of the plate consists of a herd of pigs, occupying the bottom left of the picture, and a man, standing to their right, who is about to throw a stick to a tree to make its acorns fall to the ground for his pigs to eat. Further on the right, a woman lies asleep, reclining on a stump. In the second plane, on the center, a shepherd sits under the shade of a forest, on the left, with his flock of sheep eating from the pasture near him; to their right is a palm tree, next to which stands an ox. In the background, a small village can be devised with an obelisk or pyramid near the palm tree, and a broken column not far from them. This scene is closely related with earlier representations of November, including that in the "Compost et Kalendrier des Bergers."



The presence of the palm tree and of several dead trees suggests an allegorical sense to the picture. The palm tree evokes virtue and moral victory, while the oak, represented by the broken column in the background and the stump upon which the woman sleeps, symbolizes the virtue of strength. In the print, virtue is clearly associated with work, especially through the presence of the ox in the scene and the ox heads, which represent it. Virtue is also presented in opposition to vice, represented by the pigs, attributes of luxury, gluttony, and above all, laziness. This last vice is represented by the opposition between the sleeping woman, lying on a dead tree, and the man who feeds the animals, with all his vigor and the energy from the fruits of his work. The composition might also suggest that constant work requires a moral strength that will allow the worker to approach virtue. The presence of the obelisk or pyramid in the background adds an additional religious layer of meaning to the composition. The stump on which the woman sleeps recalls a parable in which the trees that fail to produce fruits are cut and thrown to the fire, likely also an allusion to the destiny of pigs (and the lazy, for which they are representations).