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| Nicolaes Berchem Standing man with outstretched arm ca. 1644 drawing on blue paper Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Nicolaes Berchem Standing shepherd seen from the back ca. 1644 drawing on blue paper Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Jan de Bisschop Classical relief with woman approaching an altar before 1671 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
from The Contention of Ajax and Ulysses for the Armour of Achilles
The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings.
Scepter and crown
Must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Some men with swords may reap the field
And plant fresh laurels where they kill,
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still.
Early or late
They stoop to fate
And must give up their murmuring breath,
When they, pale captives, creep to death.
The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds;
Upon death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb;
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.
– James Shirley (1659)
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| Jan de Bisschop Classical relief with drunken satyr carried by two putti and young man before 1671 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| attributed to Jan Both Standing Beggar before 1652 drawing Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| Guercino Head of a Putto before 1666 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Guercino St Francis before 1666 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Guercino St John the Baptist before 1666 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Guercino Young St John the Baptist before 1666 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Charles Le Brun Study for Alexander ca. 1660-61 drawing Louvre, Paris |
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| Guido Reni Fall of Phaeton ca. 1596-1600 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| attributed to Guido Reni Angel before 1642 drawing Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge |
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| Guido Reni Figure studies before 1642 drawing National Galleries of Scotland |
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| Willem Romeyn Study of peasant woman before 1695 drawing British Museum |