Vrouwen tussen appels en rozen van liefde - Pieter Nolpe

An allegorical etching by Pieter Nolpe depicting three women surrounded by apples and roses, with putti scattering petals from above.

This etching by the Dutch printmaker Pieter Nolpe presents an allegorical scene involving three women and two putti. The composition centres on a seated woman, flanked by two others, who are engaged with apples and roses. Above them, two winged putti hover in the air, scattering rose petals from a basket onto the figures below. The scene draws upon classical motifs common in seventeenth-century Dutch art, where fruit and flowers often carry symbolic weight related to love, temptation, or the fleeting nature of beauty.

Nolpe employs a varied etching technique to define the forms. The drapery of the women's garments is rendered with rhythmic, parallel lines that suggest volume and movement. The background features a tree and a suggestion of a horizon, providing a sense of space without overwhelming the primary figures. The hatching patterns used for the foliage and the sky demonstrate the technical proficiency expected of a printmaker working in the Netherlands during this period. The figures themselves are depicted with soft, rounded features, characteristic of the period's stylistic preferences for idealized human forms.

As a printmaker, Nolpe was active in Amsterdam, producing works that often reflected the tastes of his contemporaries. This piece functions as a narrative image, inviting the viewer to interpret the interaction between the human figures and the celestial putti. The presence of the apples, often associated with the Fall or Venus, combined with the roses, typically linked to romantic affection, suggests a thematic exploration of desire. The print remains a clear example of the allegorical print tradition, where mythological or symbolic elements are integrated into a pastoral setting. The work is preserved in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, reflecting its status as a representative example of Dutch printmaking from the mid-seventeenth century.