File:Spiegel-der-vernunft-mirror-of-understanding-1488.jpg

English: A 15th-century German woodcut titled Spiegel der Vernunft (Mirror of Understanding). A Christian pilgrim, identified by his hat, staff, and knapsack, is shown in the mirror. He walks the road of life, symbolized by a perilous, roughly hewn bridge with branch stubs to trip him up. The devil pulls him backward, toward worldly pleasures, while at the far end Death, with a bow and a clock, measures his allotted time. Beyond Death there is resurrection and the Last Judgment. Below the bridge is a grave, and below that a Hellmouth, while at the top of the image the Trinity are shown, along with the Virgin and the Fountain of Life. Behind the medallion with the Trinity are ten spheres, the lowest showing the Moon, Sun, and stars while the other nine illustrate choirs of angels. A crucifix links this heavenly scene with the tableaux of the mirror, while four angels give advice. The central image is related to Bosch's The Path of Life (the exterior image on The Haywain Triptych) and his Wayfarer tondo, as well as Durer's Knight, Death, and the Devil.