The Ship of Fortune

This iconographically unusual etching, full of movement and incidental action, is one of the few book illustrations within Rembrandt's graphic output. He created it for the publication of Elias Herckmans’s narrative poem Der Zee-Vaert lof Handelende vande gedenckwaerdighste Zee ('In Praise of Sea-Faring', Amsterdam, 1634), which describes the history of sea voyages from antiquity to Christopher Columbus. Rembrandt chose to depict the closure of the Temple of Janus, a symbolic event which could only take place in peacetime, after the defeat of Marcus Antonius by Octavianus (later Augustus Ceasar) at the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC. The partially closed entrance to the temple, with the double-faced bust of Janus on a plinth, are shown on the left. Before the doorway a crowd gathers, including priests, soldiers and a captured prisoner petitioning for clemency. The wreathed figure in the centre of the composition has been identified as the defeated Marcus Antonius, his arms outcast in a gesture of despair, stranded on the beach with no control over his horse or the Roman Empire. Alternatively, the rider could also be interpreted as the the victorious Augustus, releasing the reins of the warhorse. The goddess Fortuna departing on the ship heralds the beginning of a new age of peace and the flourishing of maritime trade. This emphasis on peace, and the prosperity which follows, was particularly pertinent for Holland, a seafaring nation who at the time were in peace negotiations with Spain. In addition to the published edition with Herckman’s in letterpress, single pulls of this etching without text were also taken, of which this is a fine example.