Antique 1648 Academic Thesis Engraving female figure Pro Tentativa, Sorbonne

Description:
INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE WITH NO FRAME
A rare and finely engraved 17th-century academic thesis print, titled “Pro Tentativa”, produced in 1648 for the defense of a dissertation at the Sorbonne, Paris.
The engraving depicts allegorical female figures symbolizing Invention and Learning, one holding a brush before a tablet, the other observing. Below are academic instruments, including books and a measuring rod.
The Latin inscription records the scholar Antonio Talon Catalanus, who defended his thesis in theology under Adriano Le Vaillant, Doctor of Theology. Such elaborate engravings were specially commissioned for important academic defenses in early modern Europe and are today considered rare survivals.
• Date: 1648
• Medium: Copperplate engraving on laid paper
• Origin: Sorbonne, Paris (Thesis broadsheet)
• Subject: Allegory of Invention & Learning
Size : 55x27 cm
With frame 57x30 cm