Allegory of the Seven Liberal Arts
by VOS, Marten de, Oil on oak panel, 147 x 200 cm
The depictions of the Liberal Arts: Grammatica, Dialectica, Rhetorica, Arithmetica, Musica, Geometrica, Astrologia, are undoubtedly influenced by those of De Vos’ teacher Frans Floris, painted for Nicolaes Jonghelinck’s house in Antwerp, and popularized by Cornelis Cort’s engravings. The artist combined the liberal arts into one painting thus creating an influential model for subsequent Antwerp painters.