The Bird-Nester, Hessel Gerritsz (attributed to), after David Vinckboons, 1606
etching, h 264mm × w 350mm More details
This print illustrates a proverb: ‘He who knows where the nest is has the knowledge, but he who robs it has the nest.’ Like the adjacent drawing, the depiction could have an amorous charge, for in the distance at the left two anglers empty a fish trap. Perhaps the saying can also be interpreted more broadly: ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained.’
