Spring, from a set of ornamental designs with allegories of the seasons and grotesques
Marc Duval French
After (?) René Boyvin French
Not on view
Engraving, part of a group of four ornamental designs with grotesque motifs, from a series of six designs with allegorical representations of the seasons, created by Marc Duval. The design consists of two winged, nude female figures, standing on a grotesque mask and reclining on scrolling motifs that flank it, holding branches with scrolling acanthus leaves and bundles of fruits. From the scrolls of the branches emerge two male terms, each placing a bundle of flowers and leaves on a basket, from which hangs a bell and a wreath of leaves. Flanking the scrolls on which the female figures recline are two grotesque heads with ram horns, holding a garland of fruits and laves with their mouths, which surrounds the mask on the bottom of the design. The inscription on the print alludes to spring, a theme that is consistent with both the fertility symbolized by the naked women and the fruits and flowers around them.
