id: 106371
accession number: 1924.432.28
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.432.28
updated: 2023-03-25 11:14:20.107000
Philosophy (from the Tarocchi, series C: Liberal Arts, #28), before 1467. Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, 15th century). Engraving, hand-colored with gold; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund 1924.432.28
title: Philosophy (from the Tarocchi, series C: Liberal Arts, #28)
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: before 1467
creation date earliest: 1457
creation date latest: 1467
current location:
creditline: Dudley P. Allen Fund
copyright:
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culture: Italy, Ferrara, 15th century
technique: engraving, hand-colored with gold
department: Prints
collection: PR - Engraving
type: Print
find spot:
catalogue raisonne: Hind E.I.28a
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CREATORS
* Master of the E-Series Tarocchi (Italian, 15th century) - artist
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measurements:
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
inscription: Lettered below the image of Philosofia (Philosophy): ·C· / ·PHILOSOFIA·XXVIII· / ·28·
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: The Silver Jubilee Exhibition
opening date: 1941-06-23T04:00:00
The Silver Jubilee Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-September 28, 1941).
title: Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art
opening date: 2017-08-26T04:00:00
Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (August 26-December 31, 2017).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
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fun fact:
digital description:
This engraving is part of the group “C” named Liberal Arts. Conceptually, the liberal arts descended from classical antiquity, and were divided into the Trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic or Logic) and the Quadrivium (Music, Geometry, Arithmetic, and Astronomy). In the Tarocchi set the total number was risen to ten, with the addition of the three disciplines (Poetry, Philosophy, and Theology). The liberal arts denoted knowledge or skills considered necessary to participate in a free society. By the late Middle Ages, they began to be represented in the visual arts as womanlike allegories.
Here, Philosofia (Philosophy) is personified as Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. She holds up a lance in her right hand, while with her left hand firmly grasps her aegis, a shield bearing Medusa’s head. This was believed to have the power of turning any opponent into stone.
wall description:
Conceptually, the liberal arts descended from classical antiquity, and represented knowledge or skills considered necessary to participate in a free society. These four personifications of liberal arts are from a set of 50 engravings depicting philosophical concepts and elements of the world. Although they are called Tarocchi, the prints differ from traditional tarot cards in that they were more likely devised by a humanist scholar for educational purposes. Philosophy appears as Athena, goddess of war and wisdom; her shield bearing Medusa’s head could turn any opponent into stone. Poetry sits crowned with a laurel wreath next to a Greek Castalian font, believed by poets to be a source of inspiration.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1924.432.28/1924.432.28_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1924.432.28/1924.432.28_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1924.432.28/1924.432.28_full.tif