Illustration from the Book of Job by Lucas Vorsterman the Elder

The presented copperplate engraving was made by Lucas Vorsterman the Elder based on a painting by Peter Paul Rubens. This and other works by this artist were engraved by Vorsterman, whom the painter employed for this very purpose. The work was engraved on a copper plate in Antwerp around 1622–1628 and struck on laid paper.
The composition is inspired by the biblical quotation from the Book of Job – “Homo natus de muliere, brevi vivens tempore”.
Owing to the verse quoted at the bottom, the work acquires an emblematic character and thus the image constitutes a commentary to the text written below. In the central part of the composition there is a man being torn in different directions by three demons which he is unable to subdue. The creatures symbolise the hardships of the man’s life. It can be even assumed that the scene represents his martyrdom on Earth. For one of the demons is holding a torch, while the other two are trying to drag the man to the stake. On the right side of the composition there is an old woman, who in this scene is an allegory of the being who is the root of human suffering.