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Print - Septem Liberales Artes
  • Septem Liberales Artes
    Cleyn, born 1582 - died 1658
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Septem Liberales Artes

  • Object:

    Print

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (printed)
    London, England (published)

  • Date:

    1645 (printed)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Cleyn, born 1582 - died 1658 (etcher)
    Thomas Hinde (Publisher)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Etching on paper

  • Credit Line:

    Given by Mr Arthur Lewis

  • Museum number:

    E.1280-1936

  • Gallery location:

    Prints & Drawings Study Room, level D, case EO, shelf 11

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This print is from 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.

This print shows, the personification of Music, with a man and a child, surrounded by musical instruments and sheet music.

Physical description

Print showing a woman playing the lute, a child singing and a man playing the flute, with instruments at the foreground and background.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (printed)
London, England (published)

Date

1645 (printed)

Artist/maker

Cleyn, born 1582 - died 1658 (etcher)
Thomas Hinde (Publisher)

Materials and Techniques

Etching on paper

Marks and inscriptions

Lettered in the upper centre right of the plate:

'MUSICA'

Dimensions

Height: 12.5 cm Cut to, Width: 10.4 cm Cut to

Object history note

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.

Descriptive line

Francis Cleyn, 'Musica'. Plate from a suite of 7 including title plate showing the seven liberal arts entitled 'Septem Liberales Artes'. London, England, 1645.

Subjects depicted

Music; Musical instruments; Violin; Personification; Lute; Liberal arts (Medieval studies)

Categories

Prints; Ornament prints

Collection code

PDP

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Qr_O114187
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