De Maan en zijn invloed op de wereld 1585

This print, "The Moon and its Influence on the World," was made in the late 16th century by Johann Sadeler I using engraving. The image presents a bird’s-eye view of numerous cities and regions, bridged by a cloud on which the moon goddess Luna rides in her chariot. It’s an allegory, exploring the moon’s supposed impact on various places and their fortunes. In its time, astrology was still intertwined with natural science and ideas about how celestial bodies affected human life. Sadeler was Flemish, but the text is in Latin, the language of international scholarship, connecting this print to a broader European intellectual culture. The cities depicted – Venice, Genoa, Pisa – reflect the economic and political interests of the time, when global trade was expanding and new ideas were circulating. To fully understand this image, we can delve into texts on astrology, cosmography, and the histories of these cities. It's a reminder that art is always a product of its time, shaped by the knowledge and beliefs of its society.