the picture attributed to Matthias Gerung and dated 1558. It shows in the centre a winged female figure in the melancholy pose, head on hand. Her dark robes mingle with the patch of darkness within which she is seated. Immediately in line with her, near the lower edge of the picture, is a philosopher measuring with compasses the globe of the world and surrounded by darkness. Indubitably, these two figures together reflect Dürer’s ‘Melencolia’ and her characteristic interest in abstruse studies. The influence of Dürer’s engraving is also apparent in the rainbow in the background.

Matthias Gerung: Die Melancholie im Garten des Lebens, 1558