Fortuna 1555 - 1610

This engraving, titled "Fortuna," was created by an anonymous artist during a period of immense social and intellectual change. The image of Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune and luck, reflects the complex negotiations between fate, free will, and human agency which permeated the Renaissance. Her nakedness and wings challenge traditional representations of women, presenting her as a powerful, almost androgynous figure. Balancing precariously on a sphere, with symbols of both wealth and ruin, she embodies the capricious nature of fortune. The presence of both land and sea in the background symbolizes the broad reach of fate's influence, connecting individual lives with the wider world. This depiction of Fortuna invites us to contemplate how cultural anxieties about uncertainty and control manifest in art, and how these symbolic representations influence and shape individual and collective identities.