Abraham Bosse
French, 1602-1676
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, plate five
INV-2355
Abraham Bosse
French, 1602-16761635
The Wise and Foolish Virgins, plate five
Abraham Bosse French, 1602-1676 →etchingprint
Date
1635
Medium
Engraving and etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image: 21.8 × 32 cm (8 5/8 × 12 5/8 in.); Sheet: 42.2 × 32 cm (16 5/8 × 12 5/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Print Sales Miscellaneous Fund and Stickney Collection
Abraham Bosse’s Wise and Foolish Virgins is a sincere evocation of the joys of domesticity. These dutiful and industrious women embody the wisdom of moderation by staying indoors while their wilder, foolish counterparts run amok outside. In the New Testament parable that Bosse updates, it is only the wise virgins who are invited to a wedding feast (and by implication, into heaven), while the foolish ones are left outside in the graceless cold.
Also notable
Works in the same vein
