Sol 

Sebald Beham created this engraving titled 'Sol.' Beham was one of the German Little Masters, printmakers who made small, intricate engravings during the Protestant Reformation. This work comes from a series depicting planetary deities, blending classical mythology with the social and political concerns of 16th-century Germany. Beham, along with his brother Barthel, was briefly exiled from Nuremberg for his radical views, including questioning traditional religious and governmental structures. Here, Sol, god of the sun, stands triumphant, holding a sun head, a lion at his feet. The figure of Sol is Roman in style, yet his stance and the surrounding imagery suggest the transformative upheavals of the Reformation. Consider how the image of a powerful, classical god might have resonated in a society questioning established authority. Beham's 'Sol' invites us to reflect on the complex interplay between power, belief, and representation in a world undergoing radical change, and to recognize the emotional weight of these shifts on individual lives.