PEEP SHOW WITH INTERIOR OF A MASONIC LODGE

ca. 1750

The picture represents a classic masonic lodge. In the middle is the “Master of the Chair,” who oversees the work. His chair is flanked by columns, which are decorated with the sun and the moon, while over­head hangs a globe. The ceiling is adorned with the emblems of the free masons: a pair of compasses, a protractor, a level, a plumb line, a trowel. In the foreground, two brothers place their compasses on the globe, in a reference to universal fraternal love. The two sculptures on top of the columns, Pallas Athena and Hermes, symbolize wisdom and secrecy, also illustrate the role of the sciences and the arts in the work of the lodges.

Collection of Austrian Museum of Freemasonry, Rosenau