Abstract
In 1586 the Italian architect and painter Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527-1596) journeyed to Madrid to help Philip II with the decoration of the San Lorenzo el Escorial. His most impressive contributions are the frescoes in the main library on the ceiling and the frieze above the bookshelves, representing the Seven Liberal Arts and both principal faculties: Philosophy and Theology at the two far ends. This chapter demonstrates this by looking at representations of scientific instruments. Several of the depicted instruments are common attributes for personifications-e.g. GEOMETRIA with a compass in her right hand, similar to ASTROLOGIA who has, in addition to the compass, also a celestial globe besides her, and an armillary sphere behind her-but the Escorial frescoes also show many ?newcomers. The chapter focuses on the disciplines in which instruments appear; the ?histories with instruments are discussed first, then the ? uomini illustri . Keywords: Philip II; San Lorenzo el Escorial; scientific instruments
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