Jacques de Gheyn III (Haarlem 1596-1641 Utrecht)

The puzzling subject of this drawing continues to resist identification. In a rocky landscape, a young warrior in classical dress scratches writing into the sand with a stick, while in the background a young woman - perhaps a nymph - watches from beneath a palm tree with her hands raised in a gesture of despair or surprise. The act of writing in sand may indicate an allegory of impermanence, in which the words will soon be washed away by the nearby stream; but the warrior's elaborate costume and plumed helmet suggest that a specific subject was intended. The palm implies an exotic setting, as do the tulips in the foreground. The scene may represent an episode from Egyptian or Persian history, or a scene from Ariosto or Tasso, but it has not yet been possible to find a direct correlation.