Book Title: Andreae Alciati emblematvm libellvs.

Author: Alciati, Andrea, 1492-1550

Image Title: An Impossible Task

Description: The pictura of this emblem by the Italian jurist and writer Andrea Alciati (1492 – 1550 CE) features three men attempting to wash away the natural skin color of an Ethiopian man. The subscriptio treats of this absurd activity as representative of the futility of impossible tasks and the folly of those who engage in them.

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