MASTERPIECE

Running around the central image of Dialectica (the art of reasoning or dialectics), depicted as a woman in conversation with an older man, is a wide ornamental border. At the top of the border is a cartouche with the motto “MATER ARTIVM DONVM INVENTVM QVE DEORVM” (“mother of the arts, gift and invention of the gods”). Below, two putti hold a banderole with the inscription “CLAVIS SCIENTIARVM” (“key of science”), from which hangs a key.

Dialectics has a long history and various meanings within Western philosophy. The term is derived from the Greek word dialegesthai, meaning ‘to converse’. One of the philosophers who wrote about it is the Greek Aristotle (384-322 BCE). There is a statue of him on the left of the tapestry’s central image. According to Aristotle, dialectics is critical reasoning, in a search for truth. Therefore, this art can be considered the basis of science.