Septem Liberales Artes
Engraving
1645 (printed)
1645 (printed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This is the titlepage to Septem Liberales Artes, a series of etchings by Francis Cleyn showing the liberal arts as female figures. The seven liberal arts were defined in late antiquity, and became the traditional curriculum of secular learning in the Middle Ages. They were divided into two groups: the trivium (grammar, logic or dialectics and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music). Representing the liberal arts as young women with their identifying attributes complements the conventional description of them by the grammarian Martianus Capellus, made as early as the fifth century.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Septem Liberales Artes (series title) |
Materials and techniques | Etching on paper |
Brief description | Francis Cleyn. Titlepage to a suite of 7 plates showing the seven liberal arts entitled 'Septem Liberales Artes'. London, England, 1645. |
Physical description | Print, title page for Septem Liberales Artes |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | Lettered in the centre of the plate within a cartouche:
'SEPTEM / LIBERALES / ARTES. / Quam sit uterque libens. / censebo exerceat artem. / Hor/ lis . i. Epist 14. / F. Clein fecit. / 1645 / Sould by Tho: Hinde at the black Bull in Cornhill' |
Gallery label |
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Credit line | Given by Mr Arthur Laws |
Object history | The seven liberal arts were defined in late antiquity, and became the traditional curriculum of secular learning in the Middle Ages. They were divided into two groups: the trivium (Grammar, Logic or Dialetics and Rhetoric) and the quadrivium (Geometry, Arithmetic, Astronomy and Music). This representation of them as young women and their identifying attributes matches the conventional description made as early as the fifth century by the grammarian Martianus Capellus. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This is the titlepage to Septem Liberales Artes, a series of etchings by Francis Cleyn showing the liberal arts as female figures. The seven liberal arts were defined in late antiquity, and became the traditional curriculum of secular learning in the Middle Ages. They were divided into two groups: the trivium (grammar, logic or dialectics and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music). Representing the liberal arts as young women with their identifying attributes complements the conventional description of them by the grammarian Martianus Capellus, made as early as the fifth century. |
Associated objects |
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Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | E.1273-1936 |
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Record created | July 18, 2005 |
Record URL |
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