Symbolicarum Quaestionum. . .Libri Quinque 1574

Achille Bocchi made this engraving, called Symbolicarum Quaestionum, in Bologna, Italy, sometime in the 16th century. Bocchi was a humanist scholar, and this book collects his reflections on moral and philosophical questions. Here, we see an illustration of a bearded man struggling to hold up a globe, with a banner above him that reads "Tendenti Tenenda Omnia." He strains, with a look of intense concentration, as he carries this heavy burden. Behind him, in the distance, there is a peaceful landscape, with a town and a church. The image makes meaning through a visual code, which invites us to interpret the image of Atlas as a representation of the human condition. What does it mean to be human? The image suggests that humans must bear the weight of the world, but that this burden can also be a source of strength and meaning. To understand this work better, one might look at the history of Bologna during the Renaissance, the influence of classical literature on humanist thought, and the development of printing as a technology that made knowledge more accessible. Each of these resources would help us to understand the meaning of art as something contingent on its social and institutional context.