By the late middle ages, the artes liberals--grammatica, dialectica, rhetorica, geometria, arithmetica, astronomia, and musica--began to be represented in the visual arts as female allegorical figures. In this engraving, music is personified as a young woman seated upon a swan and playing a recorder, known simply as a flute in the 15th century. At her feet are numerous musical instruments including a portative organ, lute, shawm, harp, and rebec. The swan can be interpreted as a symbol of song, based upon the ancient belief that the bird, which is mute all its life, sings in exquisite tones shortly before it dies. Date: 1457. Place of creation: Italy, Ferrara, 15th century. Medium: engraving. Collection: Cleveland Museum of Art.
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