The Goldbeater
Author: Luiken, Jan, 1649-1712
Image Title: The Goldbeater
Scripture Reference:
- Luke 16 (further images / scripture text)
Description: Using a large mallet, the goldbeater pounds a lump of gold placed on a large stone into a thin sheet, while a dog sleeps at his side. To the left of him, a worker is gilding a book. In the shop in front of the workplace, a woman shows a gilded book to a man who carries a wooden frame that is to be gilded. The Dutch artist and poet Jan Luiken (1649-1712) was responsible for drawing this emblem and for creating the motto and poem that follow. Jan Luiken and/or his son Casper Luiken (1672-1708) were responsible for its etching. The attendant scripture text is Luke 16:19-31.
Motto:
Under the cover
Sits loss.
Poem:
The gilded adornment, looking like gold,
Is in its core worthless wood:
O Clever man, where are thine eyes?
The world’s luster is only a façade,
Inside it will be contemptible,
An artist has deceived you.
(Translation by Josephine V. Brown, with editorial assistance from William G. Stryker)
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