[Music Iconography] Cleyn, Francis. (1582 - 1658)
Musica
London: [Thomas Hinde]. 1645. Plate from the suite of seven 'Septem Liberales Artes,' this one illustrating the personification of Music, with a man and a child, surrounded by musical instruments and sheet music. Unmounted, slight discoloration at the edges from previous mounting, a sketch of unknown origin and dealer's notes appear on the verso, very slightly trimmed, else in fine condition. The etching measures approx. 4 ¾" x 4".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. (12613)
Art Classical Music