Axial Commons Image Treasury
Two oval engravings side by side: a kneeling man with a raised flame and sword, labeled Inspiration, and a standing woman on a cloud, labeled Idea.

Inspiration and Idea: emblem plates from Ripa's Iconologia (1709)

Two oval engravings from an emblem book, numbered 191 'Inspiration' and 192 'Idea'. On the left a kneeling man in a flowing cloak raises a glowing object beside a sword, while on the right a standing woman with rays around her head extends an arm above a cloud, all in fine black line on a pale page.

Artist
Cesare Ripa
Date
1709
Medium
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
4000 × 2438 px
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Public domain · Licensed CC BY 4.0 (Wellcome Collection) by Wellcome Collection; credit required.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier C · as stated by the source: CC BY 4.0 (Wellcome Collection)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

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