The Wolf Rings the Bells of a Convent from Hendrick van Alcmar's Renard The Fox

Art Historical Context

In the whimsical world of medieval fables, Allart van Everdingen's engraving *The Wolf Rings the of a Convent* captures a chaotic scene from Hendrick van Alar's *Renard The*, a 15th-century Dutch adaptation the popular *Reynard the Fox* cycle. Created between 1650 and 1675 during the Dutch Golden Age, this fifth state of six depicts anthropomorphic animals—here, a sly wolf disrupting a convent's bells amid monks and men—highlighting the tale's satirical take on human folly, hypocrisy, and power struggles. These stories, rooted in 12th-century European beast epics, used cunning foxes, greedy wolves, and pious clergy as stand-ins for society's vices, delighting audiences for centuries. Van Everdingen, a versatile Dutch artist known for rugged Nordic landscapes, excelled in intricate printmaking. This small engraving (plate: 3¾ × 4½ in.) showcases the precision of intaglio techniques, where lines incised into a copper plate hold ink for richly detailed impressions. Prints like this enabled affordable dissemination of moral tales and illustrations, bridging elite art with popular culture. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Elisha Whittelsey Collection, it invites us to chuckle at the wolf's irreverent prank while pondering timeless lessons in cunning and corruption.

About the Artist

Allart van Everdingen · 1621–1675

Allaert van Everdingen (1621-1675) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker who introduced Scandinavian landscape painting to the Netherlands. Born in Alkmaar and baptized on June 18, 1621, he pioneered a distinctive genre of Nordic mountain scenery that profoundly influenced Dutch landscape painting and later inspired the Romantic movement. Van Everdingen holds a unique place in art history...