A piece in the Principium series.
And I shall move not just the earth but the sky as well.
E eu moverei não só a terra, mas também o céu.
A phrase from the Epistle to the Hebrews (12:26), by an unknown author.
The main illustration is by Bernardino Genga (1620–1690), from "Anatomia per uso et intelligenza del disegno ricercata non solo su gl'ossi, e muscoli del corpo humano".
The illustration of the "Orphie au bec ouvert" comes from the "Histoire naturelle des poissons" by Baron Cuvier and A. Valenciennes, volume 18, 1846.
The Lepidosiren annectens is by Richard Owen and dates from 1841.
In the background are the celestial circles, in the form of an armillary sphere – in the original illustration, held up by Atlas. The illustration is by William Cunningham in "The Cosmographicall Glasse" (1559). As a curiosity, the verse at the bottom of the illustration (not included in the painting) is taken from the first book of Virgil's Aeneid, in which Atlas is described as a teacher of astronomy.
