HEEMSKERCK, Maerten van
(b. 1498, Heemskerck, d. 1574, Haarlem)

The Unhappy Lot of the Rich

1560
Pen in brown, 161 x 232 mm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

This drawing was a design for a print, the fifth in a series of six that was engraved by Philip Galle in 1563. The six prints are composed in such a way that when placed side by side they can be read as a running frieze consisting of a long procession of allegorical and historical figures.

The number of prints after designs by Heemskerck is impressive: around 600 in all.