Allegories

Early Rennaissance Allegories

Gregor Reisch's Margarita Philosophica (Pearl of Wisdom) was an compendium of contemporary knowledge and science intended for young students. It included twelve sections: grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy and astrology, natural philosophy, the origin of things, powers of animal sensation, powers of the animal intellect, and moral philosophy. First published in 1503, it went through a number of editions through the sixteenth century, becoming one of the most influential works of the early Renaissance. Reisch (1467-1525) was a monk and prior of the Carthusian monastery at Freiburg, the confessor of Emperor Maximilian I, and the teacher of John Eck and Martin Waldseemüller. His Margarita Philosophica was influential not only because of its learned and encyclopedic yet accessible textual information, but because it was accompanied by numerous, delightful woodcuts illustrating the text. These are wonderful allegorical images from the early Renaissance.

• "Typus Logicæ." This print concerns Logic, shown as a hunter (for truth?) chasing an allegorical hare, representing a "Pblenia" (problem), with his two dogs, "Veritas" (truth), and "Falsitas" (falsity). Various logical terms are engraved about the image. What is particularly interesting is that this version of this image is a crude copy of earlier versions. What is most noticeable is that most of the terms are printed backwards. The carver cut the terms front reading, meaning they printed the other way, so that it is quite difficult to figure out the various terms except by comparing them to an earlier version of the print. This does, however, lend a certain charm to the print, as evidence of human failings in the sixteenth century. $350

• "Typus Geometric." This charming print represents Geometry. The muse of geometry sits at a table covered with geometric shapes and tools. Surrounding are five figures making use of various other geometric tools, such as an astrolabe and surveying tools. $350

In the era of Enlightenment, books of knowledge, like Encyclopaedia Londinensis, took on a new importance and nobility in the scope of book publishing. Fine artists like Richard Corbould were employed to draw allegorical prints to embellish the volumes. Exalting the pursuit of knowledge, these allegorical prints draw on neo-Classical vocabulary to confer nobility on the studies of geography, botany, painting, and others. In classically-draped garments, female figures pose amid Roman architecture and artifact, employing the tools of investigation specific to their discipline. This wonderful image contains an allegory of the science of botany. $250
Go to page with other allegorical prints from this work

"See from all Climes the Learn'd Their Incense bring." From The Gentleman's Magazine. London: Edward Cave, 1753. Engraving. 7 x 4 1/4 (image) plus platemarks and margins. With a title page and poem by Mr. Urban on completing his twenty-third volume. Very good condition.

A fascinating allegory making the point that Europeans were gaining in knowledge from their exposure to the rest of the world. The image shows the four continents personified accompanied by putti as they approach the god Mercury. The continents from right to left are Europe, Asia, Africa, and America (as an Indian). The putti hold riches associated with food, geography or lands, languages, fame in the form of a medallion, and on the foreground are a celestial map, a barometer and terrestrial globe. The idealized temple is the home of Mercury the messenger or European Civilization. A charming neoclassical artifact. $175

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