Schema Corporis Solaris -- an early view of the sun, mistakenly showing sun spots as erupting volcanoes. Decorated in the spandrels with a phoenix rising from the ashes, a cherub with cornucopia, a sunflower in baroque pot, and an eagle carrying its young.

Genuina Corporis Lunaris Facies -- the surface of the moon as observed in the times of Galileo with improved observations through the use of the telescope. Decorated in the spandrels with suns showing moon phases, and eclipse diagram.

Opus Naturae Opus Intelligentiae -- Geocosmi Structura -- Sectional view of the "subterranean" earth, showing internal magma and volcanic action at the surface. Decorated in the spandrels with cherub winds and clouds.

These prints are from a 17th century work by Athanasius Kircher, a Jesuit priest and contemporary of Galileo. They are among the illustrations of Kircher's encyclopedic survey of the subterranean or "hidden" world. Kircher's Mundus Subterraneus marks the first serious effort to describe the physical makeup of the earth, proposing theories (sometimes fantastic) in the areas of physics, geography, geology, and chemistry. It was, in part, based on Kircher's observations of the eruption of Vesuvius in 1637 and the two weeks of earthquakes that shook Calabria in 1638. He suggests the existence of a vast network of underground springs and reservoirs, as well as the theory that subterranean temperatures increase directly in proportion to depth.

References:

Caillet 5783; Ferguson I, p. 467; Graesse IV: 21; Nissen ZBI 2196; Norman 1218; Sabin 37967; Shirley 436.