Xauerius, orbe peragrato, moritur in littore Chinarum / Tum te terra teget, cùm totum impleueris orbem

JOHANNES BOLLAND (1596-1665) (drawing);

CORNELIS GALLE (1576-1650) (engraving);

Antwerp, 1640.

Burin on laid paper.

Print belonging to the work: Imago Primi Saeculi Societatis Iesu…

Good condition. Stamp printed on both sides.

The eclipses produced by the interference of the Moon between the Earth and the Sun have been phenomena that, due to their spectacularity and exceptional nature, have given rise to interpretations that far exceeded the astronomical field: the eclipses were the heralds of catastrophes or dire omens or of exceptional events.

This engraving shows the incidence of the lunar shadow in the form of an eclipse on a disproportionately small Earth. The personification of the satellite gives him not only a naive idea of personality but, above all, a volition and agency over his influence regarding earthly affairs.