Death of the empress, by Compañía de Jesús (1603)

Death of the empress, by Compañía de Jesús (1603)

This emblem represents death coming for the empress Maria of Austria. A crown appears floating while death is represented by a neutral skeleton with a scythe. The text on the left page describes the event (translated):

"This painting depicts what happened in the death of this lady. Note how death makes the blow into the air and after having thrown the scythe, it stays in the air because its blow only served to exalt the glory of this lady even more: and this is the reason why the imperial crown is painted as if flying away in the air above which death remains frightened. "

Gender perspective: Glory survives regardless of the person and gender. The way the crown escapes death curiously goes against the many images of crowned skeletons.

Compañía de Jesús

Emblem 3 in Libro de las honras que hizo el colegio de la compañia de Jesús de Madrid, à la M. C. de la Emperatriz doña Maria de Austria, fundadora del dicho Colegio, que se celebraron a 21. de Abril de 1603. ("Book of honors made by the Compañía de Jesús school in Madrid, to M.C. of the Empress Maria of Austria, founder of said College, which were held on April 21, 1603"), by Compañía de Jesús school, Luis Sánchez (editor and printer), Madrid (1603).

Found in Digital Library of Hispanic Emblems (Biblioteca Digital de Emblemática Hispánica):
http://www.bidiso.es/EmblematicaHispanica/FindConditionalDigitizedEmblemPage.do?action=Search&startIndex=2&count=3&first=1&author=Todos+los+autores&briefTitle=Todas+las+obras&startIndexEmblem=1&startIndexPage=1&mote=&moteCondition=Algunas&images=Sepulcro%2fHumano%2fElementos+Funerarios&imageCondition=&versesType=&strophe=&language=&keyCondition=Algunas&keys=&authorityCondition=Algunas&authorities=&nameCondition=Algunas&names=

1603

Emblem.
Dimensions: Unknown