Melencolia I

A winged figure rests her head on her hand, holding a pair of compasses while ignoring the various instruments around her, such as a sphere, a large truncated rhombohedron, and a magic square. A small putto sits on a millstone nearby, scribbling on a tablet, while a bat-like creature carries a banner with the work's title across a sky filled with a comet and a rainbow. The foreground is cluttered with carpentry tools, a crucible, and a sleeping dog, all bathed in a strange, nocturnal light.

This work is the definitive visual expression of the Renaissance concept of 'inspired melancholy,' which linked the planet Saturn and the melancholic temperament to intellectual and artistic genius. It draws heavily on Neoplatonic theories regarding the limits of human knowledge and the struggle to bridge the gap between terrestrial craft and divine proportions.