The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 25, 2024
The Angel of the Eighth Sphere (from the Tarocchi, series A: Firmaments of the Universe, #48)
before 1467
Location: not on view
Description
This engraving is part of the Tarocchi group marked with the letter “A”, and named Firmaments of the Universe. This series comprises the seven planets from the classical astronomy (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) and the three celestial spheres that separate them from the Supreme Entity (Prima Causa) from which everything was originated.Here, Octava Spera (Eight Sphere or the Angel of the Eight Sphere) is personified as a full-length winged figure, turned to left, and holding up a starry sphere in its hands. This stationary angel embodies the firmament as a fixed pattern of stars, which according to Ptolemaic thought was believed to revolve around the planet earth.
- Italian and German Prints of the 15th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29, 1933-January 3, 1934).
- {{cite web|title=The Angel of the Eighth Sphere (from the Tarocchi, series A: Firmaments of the Universe, #48)|url=false|author=Master of the E-Series Tarocchi|year=before 1467|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1924.432.48