Arithmetic: The Seven Liberal Arts

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.