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Original fileAllegory of Art
Allegorie op de kunst Van de vindingh der Konsten, en der selver Uytbeeldingh (titel op object) Den Grooten Emblemata Sacra, bestaande in meer dan vier hondert bybelsche figuren, zoo des Ouden als des Nieuwen Testament
after Hendrick Goltzius
About This Work
A woman representing Art or Divine Wisdom stands upon a terrestrial globe, holding a painter's palette and gazing toward the radiant dove of the Holy Spirit. Surrounding her are various putti carrying the attributes of the Trivium and Quadrivium, including a caduceus for Rhetoric, an armillary sphere for Astronomy, and a lute for Music. The composition illustrates the late Renaissance concept of human knowledge serving as a spiritual bridge between the earthly and the divine.
This work reflects the Neoplatonic and Hermetic belief that the Liberal Arts are a 'ladder' (as mentioned in the accompanying Dutch text) to restore the divine wisdom lost after the Fall. It specifically references the 'Two Columns' of the children of Seth, a legendary account from Josephus often cited in esoteric traditions to explain how antediluvian knowledge of the cosmos survived the Great Flood.