GERMAN SCHOOL, EARLY 17TH CENTURY

This drawing is similar in certain ways to the style of drawings by the Ausgburg artist Lucas Kilian (1579-1637), a prolific print designer; see, for instance, his (signed?) depiction of the Muse Terpsichore in a private collection (H. Geissler, Zeichnung in Deutschland. Deutsche Zeichner 1540-1640, Stuttgart 1979, II, no. F 28, ill.). His engraving of Astrology in the print series of the Seven Liberal Arts, dated 1606 (Hollstein’s German Engravings, Etchings and Woodcuts, XVII, Amsterdam, 1976, p. 148, no. 557), holds the same attributes – a compass and a globe – as the seated woman seen here, but the present allegory seems to be broader in subject matter. The standing figure, accompanied by a turtle, may symbolise touch, while the woman with the city crown and key personifies a town.