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Discusses the emblem in its comical aspect. In the love emblem
(taking Cats' Silenus Alcibiadis, sive Proteus for an example) Porteman finds three possibly comical aspects:
firstly the lusus, or wit, inherent in the emblematic method of teaching a wholesome lesson under a
pleasant guise, secondly youth's follies of love which provide the subject of the emblem, and lastly the friendly satirical
treatment of
vice. More overtly satrical are the fools' emblems. Porteman again uses Cats for an example, here his Spiegel vanden
ouden ende nieuwen tijdt. They often funnily visualize a proverb, 'overstating' it, using the fool motif in a realistic
setting. Again their message is serious, and the fun serves an instructive purpose. Cats however never discussed the
comic potential of the
proverb-based emblem, as Roemer Visscher did in the dedication of his Sinnepoppen. Visscher's plain language,
his satire, his sometimes aggressive choice of words parallel the concreteness and realism of his picturae.
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![[H O M E : Emblem Project Utrecht]](/static/images/rd-small.gif)