Children of Luna

This is a block book print.  Still cleaning out the attic at my old blog and touching up my new place here. The Children of the Planets pictorial series was a popular subject with Renaissance artists, and I chose this particular one because I myself am a child of Luna.

During the 15th c. when this piece was created, the geocentric model of the universe was the established, accepted model, with the earth snug in the center of cosmos and surrounded by the seven spheres of the known planets, the fixed stars of the zodiac, and the empyrean heaven of God. Within this ancient order, human beings were intrinsically linked with the cosmos, and like the stars and planets, the body was thought to contain the four elements. Each element possessed essential qualities, which in turn were associated with bodily temperaments, humors, and dispositions. The element of water was cold and wet and linked with phlegm and the phlegmatic type.

Luna, the moon was associated with phlegm and the realm of water. The children of Luna were thought to have a propensity for sailing, fishing, and swimming; but they could also be restless and unstable, vacillating back and forth like the tides. The brain was also associated with Luna, as it is a moist organ and prone to the sway of the moon. It was believed that an overabundance of lunar influence caused insanity (thus, the etymology of "lunatic"). Phlegmatic personalities also tended to be stupid, slothful, and gluttonous.

(Children of Luna, c. 1470. Blockbook. Staatliche Museen, Berlin)