The pulling of a pretzel, also called 'treckelingh' in the 17th century, is considered symbolic for man for whom the messengers of God on the one hand and the servants of the devil on the other hand are fighting, a battle between good and evil: 'The life of man is a battle, that noyt as with mankind' and wears off. In his 'Wt-legginghe' the writer elaborates further on the pretzel, strongly emphasising its fragility and its wounded form. The fragility is of course compared to the fragility of human life, but the form - 'ghekrinckelt and ghedraeyt' - is also applied to man.
Whether Van Bylert, as far as virtue is concerned, wanted to express a distinction between the serious couple behind the table, and the rather frivolous looking man and woman on the right side of the composition, remains a question. The gaze of both women could indicate that the pretzel pull should be understood as a symbolic admonition of one couple to the other, cast in the image.
Jan Hermansz. van Bijlert (1597 or 1598 - Utrecht, 13 November 1671) was a Dutch painter who is considered one of the Utrecht Caravaggists. In his later life he painted classicist. He mainly painted genre pieces and portraits. Other names for him are Jan Harmensz. van Bijlert, Jan van Biler, Jan van Bylaert, Giovanni Bilardo and Jan van Bylert.
                                
 
                                
                                        Art for sale. Shop with photos and art as wall decoration. Posters,  metal (aluminium or steel),  glass,  canvas,  photo print,  wood,  framed,  canvas,  photo wallpaper or garden canvas.
The collection of wall decoration or wall decorations is very broad,  from nature through..
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 India, manAtelier Liesjes
India, manAtelier Liesjes The farmer's wife, naked model posing as a pinup in a windowAtelier Liesjes
The farmer's wife, naked model posing as a pinup in a windowAtelier Liesjes two people in a shopping street in the 70sAtelier Liesjes
two people in a shopping street in the 70sAtelier Liesjes Sea and dunes near Zoutelande, Jan Toorop,Atelier Liesjes
Sea and dunes near Zoutelande, Jan Toorop,Atelier Liesjes Piet Mondriaan, Bosch; Bos bij Oele, 1908Atelier Liesjes
Piet Mondriaan, Bosch; Bos bij Oele, 1908Atelier Liesjes Mill in sunlight, Piet Mondrian, 1908Atelier Liesjes
Mill in sunlight, Piet Mondrian, 1908Atelier Liesjes Edvard Munch, melancholy, 1896Atelier Liesjes
Edvard Munch, melancholy, 1896Atelier Liesjes Peace with Mars and Venus, Lagrenée l'aîné - 1770Atelier Liesjes
Peace with Mars and Venus, Lagrenée l'aîné - 1770Atelier Liesjes Costumed ball, Max RabesAtelier Liesjes
Costumed ball, Max RabesAtelier Liesjes Reclining Nude, George Hendrik Breitner - 1887Atelier Liesjes
Reclining Nude, George Hendrik Breitner - 1887Atelier Liesjes View of the Capuchin Monastery near Amalfi, CARL MORGENSTERN, 1840Atelier Liesjes
View of the Capuchin Monastery near Amalfi, CARL MORGENSTERN, 1840Atelier Liesjes Vesuvius and Bay of Naples, OSWALD ACHENBACH, 1884Atelier Liesjes
Vesuvius and Bay of Naples, OSWALD ACHENBACH, 1884Atelier Liesjes Poster with advertisement for France-Champagne - Pierre Bonnard, 1889-1897Atelier Liesjes
Poster with advertisement for France-Champagne - Pierre Bonnard, 1889-1897Atelier Liesjes Willows in a landscape, Claude Monet (1880)Atelier Liesjes
Willows in a landscape, Claude Monet (1880)Atelier Liesjes House in Provence, Paul Cézanne (ca.1890)Atelier Liesjes
House in Provence, Paul Cézanne (ca.1890)Atelier Liesjes Village by the water , Paul Cézanne (ca. 1876)Atelier Liesjes
Village by the water , Paul Cézanne (ca. 1876)Atelier Liesjes Oskar Mulley, Mountain farm, ca 1930Atelier Liesjes
Oskar Mulley, Mountain farm, ca 1930Atelier Liesjes San Remo - International tournament, Gino Boccasile, 1930Atelier Liesjes
San Remo - International tournament, Gino Boccasile, 1930Atelier Liesjes Gino Boccasile, Travel poster Lugano Suisse South Switzerland Schweiz, 1939Atelier Liesjes
Gino Boccasile, Travel poster Lugano Suisse South Switzerland Schweiz, 1939Atelier Liesjes Frida, Viva la vida, 1954Atelier Liesjes
Frida, Viva la vida, 1954Atelier Liesjes