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Translation error? I was able to locate an image of a Jan Provost painting called "Death and the Miser" [1] but none called "Death and the Merchant".

[1] https://www.wikiart.org/en/jan-provoost/death-and-the-miser

Having relatives that are accountants, I am interested in seeing more of the Dutch and English paintings of accountants described, but not named, in the article. If anyone knows any, please post.



From the description I'm sure that is the correct painting. The title in the original language is "De Gierigaard en de Dood". A simple modern translation would be "The Greedy Man and Death", there is no reason to translate it as "merchant". Apparently there is a book devoted to the subject of accountants in the arts from 1400 to 1900: "Art & Accounting" by Basil S. Yamey.

Edit: This article contains a list of such paintings, and there is a link to the PDF which contains images. https://www.accountant.nl/magazines/accountant-2016-q2/boekh...


Rembrandt's Sampling Officials comes to mind[1] and several works by Jan de Baen[2] because he painted so many portraits. If you ever go to a Dutch Masters exhibit at a museum look for portraits titled along the lines of "Portrait of a Merchant" or "Portrait of a Banker." You'll notice they often include things like coins that are in the middle of being counted with one hand and writing instrument in the other to symbolize the accounting.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndics_of_the_Drapers%27_Guil...

[2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_de_Baen




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