Lunar allegory

MARTIN DE VOS (1532-1603)

Antwerp, second half of the XVI century.

Burin on glued laid paper.

Text: (…) hiditate m (…) planta campique virefcunt pifcibus et vitam munere reddo meo.

Cut inside the print. Acceptable state of conservation.

Man discovered at an early date the effect of the Moon on the tides.

Therefore, although Selene is a goddess of wild fronds, in this lunar allegory she is represented in the guise of a powerful marine deity. Sitting on a crescent mole, Diana appears to dominate a rough sea. Two springs flow from her breasts, linking her humid nature to the aquatic environment.

Selene raises a ship and a compass in her hands, thus expressing her fundamental role in guiding sailors in night navigation.