The four Seasons as Half-Figures - Summer

Hollar published his first cycle of The Four Seasons with figural motifs in 1641. They are four three-quarter-length female figures clad in seasonal garments, all with a minor still life symbolizing a particular season - for spring a bouquet of Spring flowers and for Summer ripe fruit, but the lady also holds typical accessories to protect herself from the heat and sun - gloves, a fan and a veil. For Autumn there is a dish of fruit and Winter provides furs. In a small still life with a fur muff and mask on a window-sill, one can see the seeds of Hollar’s famed later still lifes with muffs.