Allegorische titelpagina met de zondeval en twee antieke Griekse artsen 1641

This is Cornelis Galle I's Allegorical Title Page with the Fall of Man and Two Ancient Greek Doctors, an engraving made in 1641. The print was designed as the title page for the Pharmacopoeia Bruxellensis, a guide to medicine published in Brussels. Galle’s image presents a symbolic framework for understanding the book’s contents. The figures of Adam and Eve, featured at the top, allude to the origin of illness and the need for medical intervention. The two Greek doctors, Dioscorides and Andromachus, stand as authorities of medical knowledge, framing the book within a classical intellectual tradition. Look at how the image is completed with a detailed view of Brussels, grounding the book in its specific place and time. To fully understand the role of this image, we must investigate the history of medicine and book publishing in the 17th century. What was the relationship between the medical profession and the church? How did the rise of print culture shape the circulation of knowledge? Investigating sources like medical treatises and publishing records will reveal the social and intellectual context that shaped this image.