Allusions and imagery used by Dürer in Melancholia I:
- The numbers in the top right form a magic square, with the two middle cells of the bottom row giving the date of the engraving: 1514.
- the significance of the truncated polyhedron[?] has been the subject of numerous articles
- The despondent winged figure of genius
- The tools of geometry and architecture surround her, unused
- The purse and keys
- The comet and rainbow in the sky
- etc.
- this is a stub article that will eventually talk about all the layers of allegory in this complex picture
External links
- A larger version of Melancholia I (http://www.princeton.edu/~his291/Durer_Melancolia.html)
- A discussion of Dürer's studies of polyhedra (http://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/durer.html)
- Article on the use of symbolism in Melancholia I (http://www.wfu.edu/Academic-departments/Art/pc/pc-durer-Melancolia.html)
- Another set of interpretations of imagery in Melancholia I (http://www.museum.cornell.edu/HFJ/handbook/hb107.html)
- And another... (http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/d/durer/2/13/4/079.html)