Temperaments in the Engravings of Virgil Solis, a German Renaissance Artist

Russian history is entertaining in that it alternates between epochs of sanguine and choleric temperaments. The former build churches, the latter tear them down, and the melancholics afterwards write: “This was inevitable.” The phlegmatics, for their part, rebind the manuscripts and calmly survive the change of dynasties.

The temperaments in engravings by the German artist Virgil Solis (c. 1514–1562). Solis was one of the most prolific engravers of the German Renaissance. He worked in the same period as the followers of Albrecht Dürer, though somewhat later, and ran a large workshop that produced designs for woodcuts, engravings and ornamental prints, which were often used in printed books. Solis is best known for his illustrations of classical mythology and biblical scenes.

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Temperaments in the Engravings of Virgil Solis, a German Renaissance Artist

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

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