Dürer's Melencolia I

Albrecht Dürer 
Melencolia I 
1514
engraving 
9 3/8" x 7 3/8"

"Yet in Melencolia I, the woman is unable to freely practice any art; the union of theory and practice required to do so evades her. She sits staring in a penetrating and thoughtful gaze, lacking the will or reason to actively make use of the surrounding items. Therefore, Dürer’s engraving is a representation of the "artist’s melancholy". Based on the writings of Agrippa of Nettesheim, which state that melancholy can affect genius in the three levels of "imagination", "reason", and "mind", the reason for Melencolia’s inactivity becomes apparent. She is the artist who can excel in the first level of "imagination", denoted by the "I" on the bat’s wing, but who, because of the limits of time and space, cannot attain the higher levels of thinking. Basically, she rejects what she can do, because she cannot do what she desires."

http://www.wfu.edu/art/pc/images/pc-durer-melencolia.jpg