The Fourth Day (Dies IV): The Creation of Day and Night, from The Creation of the World, a series of seven plates 1589

Jan Muller made this engraving, "The Fourth Day: The Creation of Day and Night," around 1590 in the Netherlands, part of a series illustrating the biblical Creation story. The image presents a classical vision of the cosmos, reflecting the revival of interest in Greek and Roman culture during the Renaissance. We see figures representing the sun and moon, Apollo and Diana, rendered in idealized, nude forms. By drawing on classical imagery, Muller and his contemporaries were not only illustrating biblical narratives, but also aligning Christian theology with classical philosophy. This was a common practice for the intellectual class in the Netherlands. This print reflects the role of art in visually interpreting and disseminating religious and philosophical ideas to a wider audience. In understanding it better, we could look at contemporary emblem books and theological treatises to see how these ideas were being debated and visualized at the time. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.