The Emblem of Human Life
1750
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1750
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Emblem of Human Life is a 1750 by Simon Francis Ravenet, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This print shows a woman in fancy clothes sitting on a grassy hillside, talking to a naked woman who’s lounging beside her. Around them, four small cherubs play—one is asleep, another waves, and two more sit nearby. In the background, a farmhouse and trees stretch across a rolling landscape under a soft sky. The title at the bottom calls it *The Emblem of Human Life*, hinting it might be about life’s stages or contrasts. The mix of dressed and undressed figures, plus the cherubs, suggests a moral or symbolic meaning, but it’s not spelled out here. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see this print in person.
The print *The Emblem of Human Life* by Simon Francis Ravenet the elder, dated 1750, reproduces an earlier composition by Titian under the title *La Vie Humaine*. Executed as an engraving on paper, the work was derived from a painting once held in the Crozat and Orleans collections.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Simon Francis Ravenet made book illustrations and single-sheet prints in the early-to-mid 1700s, turning biblical scenes and emblem books into crisp engravings.
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