Rekenkunde (Aritmetica)

A woman in classical dress, representing the Liberal Art of Arithmetic, uses a stylus to write a sequence of numbers onto a tablet. To her right, a man in a scholar's cap watches intently and points toward the calculations. The scene is set in a study filled with books and tools of learning, emphasizing the intellectual rigor of the mathematical arts.

As a work by the inventor and natural philosopher Cornelis Drebbel, this print underscores the late Renaissance view of 'Mathesis' (mathematics) as the foundational language of the natural world. It reflects the intellectual environment of the Haarlem Mannerists, where the Liberal Arts were viewed as essential stages in the pursuit of divine and philosophical truth.