Jan Saenredam was a Dutch engraver, draftsman, and mapmaker who studied in Haarlem. This engraving series illustrates a parable from the book of Matthew (25:1–13) which shows a bridegroom emerging from a doorway marked with a sculpture of a lamb. He admits Five Wise Virgins carrying full oil lamps into his wedding feast, a metaphor for heaven. The Five Foolish Virgins, who have wasted their oil in frivolous pursuits, beg the wise virgins to lend them oil so that they may also enter.
