Axial Commons Image Treasury
Brown ink and wash drawing of a crowded interior with columns, standing figures, and a seated central figure on a raised platform.

The Spirit of Wisdom

A pen and brown wash drawing on laid paper shows a crowded interior with columns and arched openings, where many standing figures gather around a seated figure on a raised platform at right. A reclining figure lies in the lower left foreground, and a handwritten inscription runs along the lower margin.

Artist
Jan van der Straet
Date
1595 or before
Medium
Recto: pen and brown and black inks, brush and brown wash over black chalk on laid paper Verso: pen and brown ink on laid paper
Source
Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum)
Size
4000 × 2968 px
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Public domain · Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1595).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Español: El espíritu de la sabiduría (dibujo, Jan van der Straet)

Un dibujo en tinta parda y aguada sobre papel vergé muestra un interior concurrido con columnas y vanos en arco, donde numerosas figuras de pie rodean a una figura sentada sobre una plataforma elevada a la derecha. Una figura reclinada yace en el primer plano inferior izquierdo, y una inscripción manuscrita recorre el margen inferior.

Português: O Espírito da Sabedoria (desenho, Jan van der Straet)

Um desenho em tinta marrom e aguada sobre papel vergê mostra um interior lotado, com colunas e vãos em arco, onde numerosas figuras em pé cercam uma figura sentada sobre uma plataforma elevada à direita. Uma figura reclinada jaz no primeiro plano inferior esquerdo, e uma inscrição manuscrita percorre a margem inferior.