Emblemata: Symbolic Literature of the Renaissance shows the different genres of symbolic literature from the late European Renaissance as they were categorized by contemporary writers and theorists. There is a focus on emblem books, the most extensive type of this literature, and examples are illustrated from the 16th century up to modern times. Until the 17th century, European culture was dominated by an obsession with symbol and allegory which was seen as a universal medium for the approach to God, for the investigation of the natural world, for the interpretation of the Scriptures and for a guide to moral conduct. With the invention of the printing press, this obsession was translated into a vast literature of symbolism of which the book presents just a small sample.