17C Woman portrayed as Summer by Claes Visscher II (1586-1652)

 

  Summer etched by Claes Visscher (1586-1652) II

17C Myth - Woman as Summer by Grégoire Huret (French, 1606-1670)

 

Summer by Grégoire Huret (French, 1606-1670)

Myth - 17C Woman portrayed as Ver Anonymous, etched by Claes Visscher (1586-1652) II

 

Ver Anonymous, etched by Claes Visscher (1586-1652) II

17C Woman in Summer by Italian Printmaker Alessandro Temini active 1650

 

Woman in Summer by Italian Printmaker Alessandro Temini active 1650

17C Myth of Pomona & Vertumnus - Sunmmer Gardens, Orchards, & Love

Vertumnus & Pomona by Frans van Mieris the Younger (1689 - 1763)

Pomona was the beautiful goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion & myth. Pomona was said to be a wood nymph. The name Pomona comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. She was said to be  a part of the Numia, the guardian spirits who watch over people, places, or homes. While Pomona watches over & protects fruit trees & cares for their cultivation, she is not actually associated with the harvest of fruit itself, but with tending the flourishing of the fruit trees. In artistic depictions she is generally shown with a platter of fruit or a cornucopia & perhaps her pruning knife

Vertumnus & Pomona in a Garden by Adriaen van de Velde  (1636–1672)

Pomona, the alluring wood nymph, actually cared nothing for the wild woods but cared only for her well-cultivated fruit filled gardens & orchards. And Pomona had a thing about men. She fenced her garden orchards, so the rude young men couldn't trample her plants & vines. She also kept her orchards enclosed, because she wanted to keep away the men who were attracted to her good looks. Even dancing satyrs(a cross between a man & a goat) were attracted to her beauty. Despite the fact that she preferred to be alone to care & nurture her trees, this beauty was continually besieged by suitors, in particular one persistent god named Vertumnus. Vertumnus had the ability to take different human guises & made numerous attempts to woo Pomona, but she turned him away each time.
 Vertumnus & Pomona by Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743)

The god Vertumus caught on to Pomona's aversion to men in her orchards & in her life generally. In Roman mythology, Vertumnus, the young, handsome god of changing seasons & patron of fruits, determined to win over Pomona.  He could change his form at will according to Ovid's Metamorphoses (xiv).  He came to her in various male disguises, which included, a reaper, an apple picker, a fisher, a solider, & more. Even with the disguises, she still never paid him the slightest bit of attention. One day Vertumnus tried a disguise as an old women. And Pomona finally allowed him to enter her garden, where he pretended to be interested in her fruit. But he finally told her he was more exquisite than her crops. After saying that, he kissed her passionately, but it wasn't enough. Vertumnus kept trying to sway her by telling her a story of a young women who rejected a boy who loved her; in despair, the boy killed hung himself, & Venus punished the girl by turning her to stone. This narrative warning of the extreme dangers of rejecting a suitor (the embedded tale of Iphis & Anaxarete) still did not seduce her. It just didn't work, of course. He then realized that it was the feminine disguise didn't work & tore it off.  It wasn't until Vertumnus appeared before her in his full manliness (apparently quite a good looking male specimen), that Pomona finally gave in to his inviting male charms. Vertumnus is a god of gardens & orchards & so it appears they were a match made in heaven. To his surprise, she fell in love with his manly wiles, & they became the ultimate loving couple working & playing in gardens & orchards together from then on.

Pomona by Hendrick Bloemaert (1602-1672)

The tale of Vertumnus & Pomona has been said to be the only purely Latin tale in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The subject of Vertumnus & Pomona appealed to European sculptors & painters of the 16th through the 18th centuries, providing a disguised erotic subtext in a scenario that contrasted youthful female beauty with an aged old woman. But it wasn't the old woman that ultimately won the day. In narrating the tale in the Metamorphoses, Ovid observed that the kind of kisses given by Vertumnus were never given by an old woman.  In Ovid's myth, Pomona scorned the love of the woodland gods Silvanus & Picus, but finally married the brutally handsome Vertumnus. She & Vertumnus were celebrated in  an annual Roman festival on August 13. There is a grove that is dedicated to her called the Pomonal, located not far from Ostia, the ancient port of Rome. Unlike many other Roman goddesses & gods, Pomona does not have a Greek counterpart, though she is often associated with Demeter.

Vertumnus & Pomona by Frans Bartholomeus Douven (1688-1726

Vertumnus & Pomona Caspar Netscher (1639-1684)

Vertumnus & Pomona by Aert de Gelde (1665-1727)

Vertumnus & Pomona by Abraham Bloemaert (1566 - 1651)

Vertumnus & Pomona with her Pruning Knife 1630 by Paulus Moreelse (1571-1638)

Vertumnus & Pomona  Roman god of seasons, and the goddess of fruit and gardens. 1683 David Teniers the Elder.

Vertumnus & Pomona  Juan van der Hamen (1596-1631)

Vertumnus & Pomona by Ferdinand Baltasars Pain (1616 - 1680)

Vertumnus & Pomona by Circle of  Caspar Netscher (c. 1635-1684)

Vertumnus & Pomona by Circle Pieter de Grebber or Pieter Fransz de Grebber (c.1600–1652/3) a Dutch Golden Age painter.

20C Spring by Kees van Dongen 1877-1968

1908 Kees van Dongen (Dutch artist, 1877-1968) Spring

18C Spring Allegory from the Italian School

18C Spring Allegory from the Italian School

19C Allegory of Spring by Nathanael Schmitt (1847-1918) in 1871

19C Allegory of Spring by Nathanael Schmitt (1847-1918) in 1871

18C Spring From Allegories of the 4 Seasons by Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont (1693- 1761)

 

18C Spring From Allegories of the 4 Seasons by Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont (1693- 1761)

17C Puttie & Spring in the Garden attr to Jan Breughel II (1601-1678)

Attributed to Jan Breughel II (1601-1678) Formal Spring Garden with a central Fountain & a few Flower Pickers

17C Spring by Wenceslaus Hollar (Czech artist, 1607-1677) Spring

Wenceslaus Hollar (Czech artist, 1607-1677)  Spring. "Welcom sweet Lady you doe bring / Rich presents of a hopefull Spring / That makes the Earth to looke so greene / As when she first began to teeme"

Allegorical characters, such as "Spring" above, in stories & in art are often located in garden settings, frequently in or near walled gardens such as the one depicted here. The locus amoenus was one of the traditional locations of epic & chivalric literature. As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a type of prose & verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of Medieval & Early Modern Europe. 

The artist Wenceslaus Hollar was born in 1607, the son of an upper middle-class civic official. Very little is known about his early life, but he evidently learned the rudiments of his craft by age eighteen, left his native Prague at age twenty, and likely studied in Frankfurt under Matthaus Merian. His first book of etchings was published in 1635, in Cologne when Hollar was twenty-eight. The following year he came to the attention of the renowned art collector the Earl of Arundel who was making an official visit to the continent, and Hollar subsequently became a part of his household, settling in England early in 1637. He remained in England during the beginning of the English Civil War period, but left London for Antwerp in 1642, where he continued to work on a variety of projects. In 1652 he returned to England, working on a number of large projects for the publisher John Ogilby and for the antiquary Sir William Dugdale. Hollar was in London during the Great Fire of 1666, and remains most famous for his scenes of the city before and after the fire. He was one of the most skilled etchers of his or any other time, which is all the more remarkable given that he was almost blind in one eye. Hollar died in London on 25 March 1677. By his life's end, he had produced some 2700 separate etchings.

16C Spring Landscape by Sebastian Vrancx (1573-1647)

 

Sebastian Vrancx (Flemish artist, 1573-1647) Spring. Vrancx is best known for his depictions of battle scenes & he was probably the first artist in the northern or southern Netherlands to attempt this subject-matter. He was the son of Jan Vrancx & Barbara Coutereau. Vrancx’s subjects also encompass allegorical scenes, such as the Months & the Seasons, & religious & mythological subjects, which he presented as genre scenes with the emphasis on narrative detail. 

16C Spring Landscape by Lucas Van Valkenborch (c 1530-1597)

1587 Lucas Van Valkenborch (Flemish painter, c 1530-1597) Landscape in Spring

1587 Lucas Van Valkenborch (Flemish painter, c 1530-1597) Landscape in Spring Detail.Lucas van Valckenborch or Lucas van Valckenborch the Elder (c. 1535-1597) was a Flemish painter, mainly known for his landscapes. He also made contributions to portrait painting & allegorical scenes. Court painter to Archduke Matthias, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands in Brussels, he later migrated to Austria & then Germany where he joined members of his extended family of artists who had moved there for religious reasons.

16C Spring by Lucas van Valckenborch (1535-1597)

 

Lucas van Valckenborch (1535-1597) Spring, 1595  Lucas van Valckenborch or Lucas van Valckenborch the Elder (Leuven, c. 1535 – Frankfurt am Main, 2 February 1597) was a Flemish painter, mainly known for his landscapes, portrait, market & allegorical scenes. Court painter to Archduke Matthias, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands in Brussels, he later migrated to Austria and then Germany where he joined members of his extended family of artists who had moved there for religious reasons.

18C Allegory of Spring - In a Garden

1754 Spring from The Four Seasons published by Thomas Major London.

People appear to work in the walled sunken garden behind the group. A man hands a flower to a young woman sitting on a terrace with her attendant standing behind them.  A boy at right has a parrot perched on his hand.  They are in a garden with a statue of a Venus & an arch at left, through which a couple can be seen in an embrace. Plants in pots dot the area around the group.

Spring & Summer are the perfect time to celebrate the rebirth of Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

18C Allegory of Spring in a Garden

1758 Spring from The Four Seasons  After Nicolas Lancret by John Simon. Here is a garden with a fountain with putti atop & a birdbath lying on the ground, where a young man holding a spade talks to a young woman holding a basket of flowers, while another woman is watering plants.

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

18C Allegory of Spring in a Garden

1745 Spring from The Four Seasons Les Quatre Saisons after Nicolas Lancret published in France Herein a garden with a fountain & a birdbath lying on the ground, a young man holding a spade talks to a young woman holding a basket of flowers, while another woman on the right is watering plants.

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

1671 Allegories of Spring- In a Garden with Putti

1671 Spring from The Four Seasons by Matthias Scheits (German artist c 1625 - 1700) Landscape with 5 putti in a landscape playing with birds. 

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.

17C Allegory of Spring in a Garden

1660 Spring from The Four Seasons by Jean Leblond 1605-1666. Here a couple sit on a turf seat under a tree in a garden setting.The young woman is holding flowers in her right hand and placing her left hand on the man's thigh.  The man appears to be holding a staff in his left hand. 

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15. 

17C Allegory of Spring in a Garden with Putti

1650s Spring from The Four Seasons by Jonas Umbach (German artist c 1624 - 1700) Four putti in a garden with a fountain in background: one putti is being crowned with a flower wreath.  

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

17C Spring Boating Party Gathering Green Branches

Sebastian Vrancx (Flemish artist, 1573-1647) The Four Seasons - Spring Boating Party Gathering Green Branches to decorate their homes.  

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.

18C Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests

18C English Woodcut of Spring. A bird's nest with chirping chicks is gently placed in the young woman's apron.  

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.

18C Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests

1796 Spring Published by George Thompson London

This depiction of Spring shows a family on a river bank.  The man is holding a fishing rod and displying a fish caught on the line, while the woman opens a wicker basket full of others. The little girl stands holding a basket of flowers, while the little boy kneels in the foreground, feeding birds in a nest in his hat. Behind them a team is ploughing in the background to right.

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15. 

18C Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests

1785 Probably published in Britain. Here a young man is handing a birds' nest to a young woman. He has one hand on her shoulder as she accepts the nest.  She is collecting spring flowers in her apron. The couple is passing by another woman kneeling beside a basket of flowers and hold up a garland for the couple to see. Men are sowing grain in fields in the background to left.

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

17C Allegory of Spring - Love & Bird Nests

1603 Spring from The Four Seasons Jan Saenredam (Dutch printmaker, c 1565-1607) Here a young couple pick flowers & delight over tiny chicks in a bird nest. 

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.

17C Spring Boating Parties - Making Music & Gathering Newly Green Branches

1660 Published by Matthew Collings; After Crispijn de Passe the Elder; After Maarten de Vos. May; boat with two couples collecting green branches, drinking, and making music.   The branches of new leaves decorating the boat celebrate the regeneration of spring & fertility.

Spring is the perfect time to celebrate Earth's Beauty & Bounty.  Flowers gave beauty & inspiration to mankind's basic struggle to live & to populate & to protect his home-base, The Earth.  Holding on to The Sweet Divine - The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it...Genesis 2:15.

16C Spring Allegories - Birding & Tending Sheep

Sebastian Vrancx (Flemish artist, 1573-1647) Allegory of the Season Spring

Celebrating our Earth.  Holding on to the Sweet Divine - “The Lord God took man & put him in the Garden of Eden to work it & to keep it.”  Genesis 2:15.