Phlegmatic Temperament (Phlegmaticus)

Vos, Maarten de, after

Engraving on paper of phlegmatic from a set of four temperaments, engraved and published by Raphael Sadeler (1560/61-1628/32) after a design Maarten de Vos (1532-1603) in Antwerp between 1580 and 1620. Phlegmatic is traditionally associated with the element of water and the season of winter. Luna, the personification of the moon, wears a crescent in her hair, rests one foot on a dolphin and holds two fish. She stands next to a man seated on a fishing boat with water lilies growing at his feet. In the background, fishermen pull in nets from the sea and store fish in barrels. The three associated zodiac signs are: Cancer, Pisces and Scorpio. Four lines of verse in Latin below.