Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Allegory of Envy
(Renaissance Europe )
This exquisite relief depicts an allegory, or symbolic representation, of Envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy is represented by an old and emaciated woman with wings on her back and sagging breasts who is literally eating her heart out. The plaque is from a series on the Seven Deadly Sins for the decoration of a small chest or box. Silver is softer than bronze and permits the fine linear detail that makes the depiction so convincing.
As well as plaques and medals, Flötner made large-scale sculptures and designed woodcuts. He spent years in Italy and was one of the artists responsible for introducing the Renaissance style, based on classical antiquity, into Germany.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Mathias Komor, New York, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, April 7, 1958, by purchase.
Geographies
Germany, Nuremberg (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 1/8 × W: 2 3/8 × D: 1/8 in. (7.9 × 6 × 0.3 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds provided by the S. & A.P. Fund, 1958
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.1869