The Animals

Hyginus, G. Julius (64 BCE–17 CE)
Clarissimi viri Iginij Poeticon astronomicon, opus vtilissimmu foeliciter
incipit: de mundi [et] spherae ac vtiusqu[ue] partiu[m] declaratio[n]e
Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 14 October 1482.

It may come as a surprise that these are the same constellations shown in Item 5 [see The Constellations], the Dolphin (Delphin) and the Horse (Equus). Here, designer Johannes Santritter depicts the constellations in their stylized animal forms. The stars themselves are integrated into the bodies of each animal and heroic figure, turning the sky into a collage of celestial and mythical portraits. Though perhaps more visually striking, this manner of depicting the constellations could often lead to confusion and inaccuracies in the orientation and mathematical positioning of the stars.

Johannes Santritter also designed the woodcuts in Item 6 [see The Eclipse], which is open to a diagram of an eclipse.