Arithmetic (from the Tarocchi, series C: Liberal Arts, #25)

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

This engraving is part of the group “C” named Liberal Arts. Conceptually, the liberal arts descended from classical antiquity, and were divided into the Trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric, and Dialectic or Logic) and the Quadrivium (Music, Geometry, Arithmetic, and Astronomy). In the Tarocchi set the total number was risen to ten, with the addition of the three disciplines (Poetry, Philosophy, and Theology). The liberal arts denoted knowledge or skills considered necessary to participate in a free society. By the late Middle Ages, they began to be represented in the visual arts as womanlike allegories. Here, Aritmetricha (Arithmetic) is personified as a full-length female figure, turned slightly to left. Arithmetic is regarded as the science that teaches counting. In this engraving, she is displayed counting coins in her hands.

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