Hypothesis of the Ptolemaic Eccentric and Epicycle
Andreas Cellarius, 1660
$123
Print check at 14 x 11 in: 206 dpi, excellent. Trimmed 8.2% to the shape of the print.
Shipping to a US address: $24.80 for this piece, from the print room in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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Where most of Andreas Cellarius's Harmonia Macrocosmica (1660) plates picture full mythological star-figures, this one is purer geometry: a technical diagram of the Ptolemaic model's eccentric orbits and epicycles — the nested, off-center circles ancient and medieval astronomers used to explain why planets appear to slow, stop, and briefly reverse course against the fixed stars. Even here, Cellarius surrounds the diagram with his characteristic Baroque flourish, ornate strapwork and rearing horses framing what is, underneath the decoration, a genuine explanatory tool. What to notice: Ptolemy's system, however wrong about the sun's place, was mathematically sophisticated enough to predict planetary positions with real accuracy for over a thousand years — this diagram is a portrait of a wrong idea that nonetheless worked.
- Maker
- Andreas Cellarius
- Date
- 1660
- Medium of the original
- Plate
- Original held by
- Wikimedia Commons
- Credit
- Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00266
| Picture | 14 x 11 in |
|---|---|
| Outside size | 15.6 x 12.6 in |
| Depth | 0.9 in (22 mm) |
| Weight | [[REAL PROOF NEEDED: shipped weight per size and frame]] |
| Hanging | [[REAL PROOF NEEDED: hanging hardware Prodigi fits to this frame]] |
| Material | Enhanced matte art paper, 200 gsm; acrylic glazing |
| Made in | Charlotte, North Carolina, by Prodigi |
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | dpi | Grade | How it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | 289 | Excellent | Trimmed 6.6% |
| 14 x 11 in | 206 | Excellent | Trimmed 8.2% |
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 12 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 16 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 18 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 20 x 16 in | 144 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 24 x 18 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 30 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 30 x 24 in | 96 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 36 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 40 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 48 x 36 in | Wrong shape: a 12% crop |
| 60 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 2,894 x 2,478 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 92, lights 232 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 68.73
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
Shipping for this piece to a US address is $24.80, the print room’s own rate, charged per piece. Checkout shows the total before you pay.
Every piece is printed after you order it, in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ships from there. For now we ship to US addresses only.
A piece that arrives damaged, misprinted or in the wrong size is replaced at our cost. The details: shipping and returns and replacements.
Cabinet of Curiosities
The old world’s book of wonders, for your wall.
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