CASPAR JACOB VAN OPSTAL THE YOUNGER | An Allegory of Time, Work and Idleness

Private collection, Ile de France;

Anonymous sale ('Collection d'un amateur de d'Ile de France'), Paris, Christie's, 26 June 2008, lot 16 (as Flemish School, 18th Century).

In this small, allegorical picture, Caspar Jacob van Opstal the Younger paints Time, Work, and Idleness in human form to clearly illustrate the benefits of perseverance. At the centre of the composition, the figure of Time hands the hardworking man on the left great riches and education, symbolised by the golden crown that sits on top of a book. At the labourer's feet, one may also note an abundance of food. By contrast, the slothful man on the right is offered only penury, as indicated by the empty dish, brambles, and thistles that surround him. The theme of punishment is also evoked by the depiction of the prison and gallows behind the figure of Idleness, in addition to the rod and whip that the personification of Time points in his direction.

Dr. Fred G. Meijer has endorsed the attribution to Opstal based on first-hand inspection.