On the interaction of mathematics and melancholy (Q1879374)

The copperplate Melencolia I engraved by Dürer in 1514 illustrates various interdependencies between mathematics and melancholy. Dürer's engraving is one of the best known works of art in our western history. Up to our own times it has been interpreted repeatedly. The significance of Dürer's Melencolia I for our cultural history is subject of this essay. On the one hand the various changes of the conception of melancholy from antiquity up to Dürer's times are called in mind. In addition to it some examples assert that during the last five centuries the correlation between mathematics and melancholy has been contemplated and shaped as well.