1932.37
The Triumph of Sloth
Artist
Pieter Coecke van Aelst, I
(Aelst, 1502 - 1550, Brussels)
Title
The Triumph of Sloth
Creation Date
ca. 1537
Century
16th century
Dimensions
8 3/4 in. x 15 11/16 in. (22.2 cm. x 39.8 cm.)
Object Type
drawing
Creation Place
Europe, Netherlands
Medium and Support
pen and brown ink, brush and grey wash on paper
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, James Phinney Baxter Fund, in memory of Professor Henry Johnson
Copyright
Public Domain
Accession Number
1932.37
Pieter Coecke van Aelst I oversaw an Antwerp-based workshop that designed works in many media, from panel paintings to tapestries, prints, goldsmiths’ work, and stained glass. This drawing, a record of the finished cartoon to be kept in Coecke’s workshop, depicts a lethargic procession in which the allegorical embodiment of Sloth, recumbent and idle on her chariot, traverses a dismal landscape, her snoozing standard-bearer Sleep leading the way and about to keel off his steed. This is one from a series of seven tapestry designs representing the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins, to be viewed contiguously as an inglorious parade. Coecke drew small-scale designs (“petit-patrons”); then he and members of his workshop copied and enlarged these plans into full-size cartoons for use by tapestry weavers in Brussels.
Additional Media
front
