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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileafter Hendrick Goltzius
A young man in 17th-century dress walks alongside the goddess Diana, who is identified as Luna by the glowing crescent moon behind her head. To their right, an elaborate tiered fountain featuring sculptures of dolphins and a putto flows into a basin where a hunting dog drinks. In the background, other figures stroll through a formal Renaissance garden set against classical architecture and a mountainous landscape.
This engraving illustrates the astrological concept of the 'Children of the Planets,' where the celestial bodies govern human temperaments and activities. Luna is traditionally associated with moisture, the night, and the mutable emotions of lovers, reflecting the Neoplatonic belief in the macrocosm's direct influence on the human microcosm.
Sic IUVENES LUNA per amica silentia multos LUNA Ille DEUS præpes cæco inflammavit Amore HGöltzius inuentor I. Matham sculp., R. de Baudous excud. 1615
Translation
Thus the YOUTH by the friendly silences of the MOON many MOON That winged GOD inflamed with blind Love HGöltzius inventor I. Matham sculp., R. de Baudous excud. 1615
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's 'De vita libri tres' explores how to attract and mitigate planetary influences, including those of the Moon, to maintain spiritual and physical health.
Ptolemy
The 'Tetrabiblos' established the foundational astrological characteristics of Luna as a cold, moist, and feminine influence on the sublunary world.
Object
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Engraving
mythological
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the National Gallery of Art. Please see the Gallery's Open Access Policy.
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
4000 × 2928 px
96fffac86c53f8af7def6a84825b7b2f9d915381
August 28, 2019
March 23, 2026
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 1, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.