MASTERPIECE

The personification of Astrologia, or astronomy, is a winged woman with a blue cloak and stars surrounding her head. Her main attribute is a celestial globe, which is a globe depicting the apparent position of the stars in the sky. This means that the star constellations are not represented as we see them from the earth, but as if we the viewers, are standing behind the night sky.

The celestial globe on this tapestry depicts the constellations as figures. At the top are several constellations of the elliptical galaxy, such as Gemini and Cancer. At the bottom-right of Cancer is the Water Snake (Hydra). The male figure on the left, with the raised weapon, is the constellation Orion. Below him, the vast constellation Eridanus winds almost all the way to the southern pole. What is striking here is that the celestial globe is rotated, so that we primarily see the southern part. At the centre is the image of a ship flying the Dutch flag; below are several new constellations that were not described in Europe until voyages in the late 16th century. Just below the ship, the minute Goldfish constellation (Dorado) is shown. Further down, almost invisible in the shadow part of the celestial globe, are, among others, the Small Water Snake (Hydrus), touching the tip of Eridanus, or, more to the right, the Southern Triangle (Triangulum Australe).