No. Fair use is for book reviews or comment on the subject. Your use is decorative, and so does not fall under fair use.

It may be that your use falls under public domain because 17th and 18th century images may be out of copyright. Copyright expires 70 years after the death of the artist, so most black and white photos of this age will not be subject to copyright. But I'm no expert. If in doubt, it's better to get permission from whoever owns the artwork.

A straight copy of any part of a copyrighted image is illegal, even if it's part of a collage. This is key element in a current lawsuit playing out in relation to AI images, where AI programs create collages of copyrighted works. https://medium.com/illumination/lawsuits-for-ai-generated-imagery-have-begun-bb8eb6394bd0

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Susie Kearley 🐹 Guinea pig slave
Susie Kearley 🐹 Guinea pig slave

Written by Susie Kearley 🐹 Guinea pig slave

Freelance journalist UK. Published in BBC Countryfile, The Mirror, Britain mag etc. Covers writing, health, psychology, memoir, current affairs, & environment.

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