Moral Emblems: The Four Old Monarchies

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 the four old monarchies, or universal empires (Assyria, Persia, Greece and Rome), likely an extension of a Medieval tradition often followed in the Renaissance, represented by four men dressed in classical garb, gathered around a globe. On the upper left, Assyria leans on a shield with the figure of a lion, the attribute of the founder of the empire. Below him is Greece, wearing a laurel wreath, leaning on a shield with a double-headed, winged lion motif, possibly representing the hydra that is often associated to Alexander. Persia, on the right, carries an Imperial crown and holds a shield with a bear motif, attribute of the founder of the Empire of Persians and the Maedes. Below it is Rome, wearing a helmet, who leans on a shield with the figure of a she-wolf, attributed to the founder of the Roman Empire. The allegorical sense of this print might be related with that of the print labeled with the letter "K" in this set, which suggests that even the greatest empires are destined to decline in time. The illustration of these four men around a globe recalls earlier Medieval depictions of the subject, often representing Fortune making the globe move towards a street with several characters who are either favored or disadvantaged by the move.