Painting - Heaven and Earth

Another painting generously donated by artist Antonia Naarstig.

This oil painting is inspired by a 14th Century Flemish Manuscript. Mediaeval concepts of the human body were related to astrological ideas; maps of the cosmological heavens were transcribed and applied to the human body and organs. Eg, the lungs related to the constellation of Gemini. The notion of masculine and feminine principles were interwoven throughout these maps and ideas, to create a beautiful diagnostic system for ailments of mind, body, spirit, and soul. To add to the complexity, Galenic humours were also another system overlaid thereupon in an attempt to make sense of man’s (sic) purpose and place in the universe. This painting pays homage to the minds who developed these magical systems.