Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609-1684), Circle, Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609-1684), Circle . Allegory of Vanitas with lute player and putto

Oil on canvas, 56.5 × 69cm

In a dark ruin lies a female figure with her arm propped up with a lute. Resting your head in your hand is a gesture of melancholy. She thinks about the futility of human actions. A putto balances with one leg on a globe and blows soap bubbles. It symbolizes the uncertainty and transience of human life, which is as short and fragile as a soap bubble (“homo bulla est”). At the same time, his posture also has something dancing and playful, just as fate plays with people. On the floor lie treasures, a large bowl with coins, a vase with pearls, symbols of worldly power such as a crown and scepter, a flag that symbolizes the luck of war and open books. All objects and the ruins symbolize the uselessness of human striving for wealth, power, military success and knowledge. Oil on canvas, 56.5 × 69cm