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| Melencolia I - Albrecht Dürer (1514) |
According to Hippocrates, who is considered the father of medicine, our body is dominated by four humors: phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile. The proper balance between these elements ensured a healthy state, while the predominance of one of them could cause the onset of disease and determine a particular state of mind. For example, the predominance of black bile led the subject to be the slave of melancholy (MELAS, melanos: black - chol: bile). Also
astrological tradition comes to us from the belief that the planets influence the character of men, so that those born under Saturn have features such as a propensity to feelings of sadness and a tendency to do well in artistic fields. This association has probably originated from the tradition that describes the artists as people prone to sadness (in some extreme cases, resulted in madness), so that we almost came to believe that only those born under the protection of Saturn could be called a true artist. In the work of Dürer
we are presented with a winged figure in a thoughtful attitude and in a melancholy mood. The incision, which is part of a triptych, is full of alchemical elements and symbols (scales, hourglass, solid, scale, etc.).
It can be seen, inter alia, the presence of a magic square, which was supposed to have the power to chase away the sadness.
Adding the numbers in each row, column and diagonal (as well as some groups) is obtained as a result 34. While the numbers in the central cell of the last row give the date of realization.
astrological tradition comes to us from the belief that the planets influence the character of men, so that those born under Saturn have features such as a propensity to feelings of sadness and a tendency to do well in artistic fields. This association has probably originated from the tradition that describes the artists as people prone to sadness (in some extreme cases, resulted in madness), so that we almost came to believe that only those born under the protection of Saturn could be called a true artist. In the work of Dürer
we are presented with a winged figure in a thoughtful attitude and in a melancholy mood. The incision, which is part of a triptych, is full of alchemical elements and symbols (scales, hourglass, solid, scale, etc.).
Adding the numbers in each row, column and diagonal (as well as some groups) is obtained as a result 34. While the numbers in the central cell of the last row give the date of realization.
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