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Original fileAbt Anub als kluizenaar
About This Work
An elderly monk in a hooded habit gazes upward with hands joined in devotion toward a celestial light breaking through the clouds. To his right is a rustic stone chapel, while the background reveals a vast landscape with a winding river, distant mountains, and a fortified castle. The composition emphasizes the spiritual elevation of the hermit through his physical placement above the mundane world below.
The print highlights the concept of 'oculus mentis' (the eye of the mind), a term rooted in Neoplatonic philosophy and Christian mysticism describing the faculty of direct divine perception. This work reflects the late Renaissance interest in the contemplative life as a path to gnosis, a theme central to both the Hermetic and Neoplatonic revivals.
Inscriptions
Sadeler excud: Magnus ANVB pietate fuit, coelestia purae Contemplans oculo mentis, amansq. Dei. 24 Cui crebrò apparens diuina potentia, verum Sectari, verum semper amare iubet.
Translation
Sadeler published it: Great ANUB was of piety, purely Contemplating heavenly things with the eye of the mind, and loving God. 24 To whom, divine power frequently appearing, Commands him to follow the truth, to always love the truth.
Connected Texts
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino’s Neoplatonic philosophy centers on the 'oculus mentis' mentioned in the inscription as the primary tool for the soul's ascent to the divine.
Corpus Hermeticum
Hermetic texts like the 'Poimandres' emphasize the use of the 'eye of the mind' to perceive the incorporeal and divine realms.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 168 mm x width 203 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.