Description
Hope gives an abstract virtue a place amid danger and uncertainty. A central figure with an anchor stands within a busy world of water, boats, buildings and crowds. Prisoners appear behind bars at the left, while the harbor opens toward the right. The surrounding incidents give the virtue something to answer to, making hope meaningful in relation to the difficulties that occupy the rest of the scene.
Philips Galle engraved the work after Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s design for The Virtues, published by Hieronymus Cock around 1559–60. The print combines an allegorical subject with the density of a populated scene. Its fine lines support both the larger arrangement and the smaller incidents within it. The result gives a moral idea a tangible setting, making the search for meaning part of the pleasure of looking closely.
Read our guide to giclée prints or browse the Pieter Bruegel collection.
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