Playwrights from the Northern and Southern Netherlands made grateful use of the subjects found in the stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. For instance, the tragic love of several couples is central in this reissue of Den handel der Amoureusheyt from 1621 by Johan Baptista Houwaert, which cautioned the readers against excesses. Printmaker Jan van de Velde chose a theatrical pose for Narcissus.
