ABSTRACT
The German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder produced his mysterious work entitled Melancholia in 1532, inspired by an earlier engraving on the same theme by Albrecht Dürer. 1 A winged woman whittling away at a stick is seemingly lost in thought while she contemplates three naked toddlers trying to pass a large ball through a hoop. In the background is a contrasting scene between a beautiful landscape and an ominous scene of witches riding different animals, including a well-dressed man riding astride a goat. The painting appears to be an allusion to idleness as conducive to melancholy and would thus reflect the uncompromising view of Martin Luther, a close friend of the artist, on the topic of melancholy (see Chapter 22).
