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Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileRekenkunde (Aritmetica) De zeven vrije kunsten (serietitel)
after Hendrick Goltzius
The central figure, partially draped in the Mannerist style, uses a stylus to record digits on a small handheld tablet. A male figure wearing a scholar's cap points to the calculations, emphasizing the instructional nature of the scene. The surrounding study is filled with attributes of learning, including an inkwell with a quill, a stack of bound books, and a shelf of volumes in the background.
Representing one of the Seven Liberal Arts, this work reflects the Renaissance Neoplatonic view that arithmetic is the fundamental language of the cosmos. The focus on 'mathesis' in the inscription connects the discipline to the Pythagorean and Boethian traditions, where number was seen as the primary key to understanding the rational structure of the divine creation.
2 Precipuas partes tribuit primasq mathesis Iure mihi, numeros certa ratione docenti. [On tablet]: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 [Artist Monogram]: HG
Translation
Mathematics grants me the foremost and primary roles By right, as I teach numbers by a certain method. [On tablet]: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11
Boethius
His 'De Arithmetica' was the foundational text for the study of arithmetic as a liberal art in the West, defining it as the study of 'multitude in itself.'
Pythagoras
Arithmetic as a liberal art is rooted in the Pythagorean belief that 'all is number' and that numerical ratios govern the harmony of the universe.
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Engraving
allegory
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC0
http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.106345
Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
3722 × 4978 px
f4810546bb9a0234bcd62e5d12e1bc999b99f52d
November 6, 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.