Science (Sientia)

Engraving, part of a series of nine oval prints with allegorical representations of the virtues, and with a kind of exergue on the bottom containing an inscription of the virtue represented. The virtues are represented by female figures endowed with their attributes and landscapes in the backgrounds. In most cases, the attributes are composite and recall other virtues, suggesting that the person who possesses one virtue can have them all. Delaune seems to insist, particularly, on the virtues of wisdom, peace and piety as the basis for the development of other virtues. In this print, Science is represented by a woman walking towards the right, holding a compass and ruler in her right hand, and lifting towards her face with her left hand a skull head crowned by a triple wreath of laurel leaves. At her feet is a carpenter's square, a sundial, and an astronomical instrument, evoking most of the liberal arts and sciences. The compass is also reminiscent of Virtue and Justice, while the two columns behind her might recall the virtue of Strength. The skull head might be an allusion to the vanity present in every human enterprise that is placed outside the religious quest. Science is surrounded by a maritime landscape, which might suggest the greatness of God and the "infinite" range of knowledge.