Frontispiece Design for Jacob Cats, Self-Strijt

As the illustrator of the works of Jacob Cats, Adriaen van de Venne contributed enormously to the popularity of emblem books. They contained wisdom regarding all manner of moral issues in the form of poems and fitting allegorical illustrations. In Self-Strijt the internal struggle between good and evil thoughts is illustrated through Joseph. The wife of Potiphar tries to seduce him, in vain, into adultery.