The Four Temperaments 1500 - 1537

Jörg Breu the Elder created this roundel, a pen and black ink drawing called “The Four Temperaments,” in the early 16th century. Breu, who lived in Augsburg, Germany, made this work during the Renaissance, a time when there was a renewed interest in classical learning. This drawing depicts a theory which was popular during the Renaissance, and originated with the ancient Greeks, that human behavior is based on the balance of bodily fluids. From left to right, we see Melancholic, Phlegmatic, Sanguine and Choleric. The artist has used different approaches to each of these figures, from the sad and listless Melancholic, to the two men fighting that represent Choleric. Gender is enacted through these figures, with Choleric seeming distinctly masculine, while the well-dressed woman could stand in for Sanguine. Consider how cultural perceptions of the body influenced not only the artwork's subject, but also its style and reception. It speaks to the enduring human desire to categorize and understand ourselves.