1749 Oppelt Engraving of Atlas Holding up the Heavens

An intricately engraved print of Atlas holding up the heavens, accompanied by a poem, that appeared in Johannes Oppelt's 1749 work Sammlung Geist- und Sinnreicher Gedancken….

A Closer Look

The title of the image, 'Totus aether pondus incubuit leve,' is a quote from Seneca's tragedies. The globe that Atlas holds is inscribed with recognizable constellations and zodiac figures. The verso text is a poem in German, presumably by Oppelt, along with an engraving of a basket of flowers.

Publication History and Census

This print was included in the third volume (dritte thiel) of Johannes Oppelt's 1749 German-language work Sammlung Geist- und Sinnreicher Gedancken…, which was a republication of the 1731 text Pacis Monarchicae…, also published as Pax Monarchiae Internae, a collection of allegories, songs, poems, and legends in Latin and German. Both works were published in Prague at the Jesuit-run Charles-Ferdinand University, that is, the University of Prague. This print is not independently cataloged in any institutional collection, while the entire text (whether as Pacis Monarchicae…, Pax Monarchiae Internae, or Sammlung Geist- und Sinnreicher Gedancken…) is held by perhaps a few dozen universities in North America and Europe.