To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"

To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"

Adriaen van de Venne

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Van de Venne excelled in many genres, but he is perhaps best remembered for his depictions of proverbs. In this interior scene, an elegant couple, attired in costly finery and waited upon by two servants, is engaged in a game of shuttlecock, which is normally played outdoors. The skeletal figure of Death emerges from behind the curtain, cautioning the observer that it is only a matter of time before these frivolous pleasures-also symbolized by the empty glass, the playing cards strewn about the floor, and the lute on the table-come to an abrupt end.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"To Each His Own Pastime, "Elck Sijn Tijt-Verdrijff"

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.