The Ship of Fortune

Rembrandt occasionally received requests to illustrate books. This allegorical etching appeared in Elias Herckman's Der Zee-Vaert Lof, a verse history of seafaring exploits that extended back to Noah and the Ark. The undulating baroque composition is a complex evocation of Augustus's defeat of Marc Antony. Weary of battle, the horse sinks to the ground. The event ushered in an era of peaceful maritime trade. Rembrandt gave himself a cameo role, using his own likeness for the image of Janus, the two-faced god whose temple was closed to mark the arrival of peace in Rome.