Matthaeus Merian, Allegory of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, taken from Musaeum hermeticum, reformatum et amplificatum, Frankfurt, 1677.

Matthaeus Merian, Allegory of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, taken from Musaeum hermeticum, reformatum et amplificatum, Frankfurt, 1677.

Engraving in burin and etching on wove paper with unidentified watermark. Some tears to the paper and small holes but a very beautiful example with clear inking.

Famous - and extremely rare - engraving depicting the Macrocosm and the Microcosm, a work by Matthaeus Merian, originally published in the legendary 1677 edition of Musaeum Hermeticum. The extraordinary composition - always admired and studied by all collectors/lovers of alchemy, magic and hermeticism - has been masterfully summarised by Dr Marcello Fumagalli:

'The theory of the Macrocosm and the Microcosm had tremendous fortune in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The Macrocosm was associated with the image of the Universe, the World, the locus where God resided, the Creative Light propagating in all directions capable of dissolving the darkness and providing the active generative principle of all things. Man, created by God and in whom Divinity reflected, was, on the other hand, the Microcosm and the Universe of which he constituted a replica in miniature.

Therefore, the Macrocosm and Microcosm were constituted by a single matter formed by two opposing principles: the Infinite Light and the Dark Shadows. In dualism, alchemists believed they had uncovered the mystery of the Philosopher's Stone, of the Quintessence, of the Universal Medicine capable of healing every kind of illness. In symbolic illustration and in alchemical writings, the opposing principles, Light and Shadows, acquired the meaning of Sulphur and Mercury, Day and Night, Sun and Moon, Masculine and Feminine, King and Queen.

The symbolism served the function of Lutum Sapientiae which, by "sealing" the true meaning of things, allowed for the respect of the dogmatic secret of the Sacred Art that imposed absolute silence and the prohibition against the vulgar dissemination of eternal wisdom. Operations, advice, and theories for the manufacture of the Lapis Philosophorum were thus memorised in emblematic images. The engraving, subject of our interpretation, is included in the third treatise dedicated to the Basilica Philosophica of the Opus Medico-Chymicum of Johann Daniel Mylius.

The work was executed by the engraver Mattheus Merian, to whom the author entrusted the task of synthesising dogmas and secrets of Alchemy into "images". The volume contains other important alchemical illustrations such as the Eleventh Key of Basil Valentine and the geometric representation of the Mundus Archetipus of Thomas Norton. The images were used by the publisher Lucas Jennis for the typographic brand and for the schematic representation of the hermetic worldview. The publisher also employed the work of Mattheus Merian to illustrate the appendix of the Museum Hermeticum published in 1625 in Frankfurt.

The Composition

The work represents, in a synthetic yet complete manner, the hermetic Universe. It appears divided into two parts along a horizontal axis that separates the divine from the earthly, the illuminated sky from the dark abyss. A large radiant hemisphere, symbol of the macrocosmic Universe, serves as the backdrop for the upper part. In this background of light and primitive energy, a multitude of Angels envelop the Sacred and Ineffable Name of God written with the four Hebrew letters, בװםװ , JHVH (Jehovah). Beside it is the Mystic Lamb of the Son and the Dove of the Holy Spirit.

In the lower area, a smaller sphere, surrounded by clouds, contains the alchemical symbols of the Raven, the Swan, the Dragon or Basilisk, the Pelican, and the Phoenix. The depiction of the stages of Alchemy is in turn enclosed by a ring of seven stars and a circle that connects the upper sphere to the lower one. All of this surrounds a structure of seven concentric rings that encompasses, starting from the outside, the kingdom of the Zodiac and Planets - Metals, that of Wind, of the Sun and Stars, that of Mercury, Sulphur, and Salt, that of Fire.

The central part of the structure consists of the ensemble of symbols of alchemical knowledge namely the triangles of Water, Fire, and the six-pointed star or the magical Shield of Solomon symbolising the Philosopher's Stone. The triangle inscribed in the circle is the trinitarian image of the alchemical foundation, the Philosophical Mercury, whose hieroglyph is placed at the centre. The lower part of the engraving is in turn divided by an imaginary line into two parts; a diurnal on the left and a nocturnal on the right. In the middle of the landscape, a small wooded hill, rounded in shape, symbolises the earth. Each tree bears the sign of a metal and at the top is depicted that of Gold.

The trees are oaks, which in the language of hermetic philosophers meant strength and perpetual resistance. At the lower edge of the "forest", an old man wields two axes, one in his right hand and the other in his left, and his robe, entirely embroidered with stars, is half in light and half in darkness.

The figure embodies the Alchemist and the indissoluble Unity of the Gold Stone and is supported by two Lions whose bodies merge into a single head from which flows a fluid, the transposition of the primal matter. To the right of the hill, immersed in the darkness of night, an eagle with outstretched wings supports a naked woman and a man with a stag's head and simultaneously protects the sphere of earth and water.

Hermeticism wishes that this is the part consecrated to the feminine principle, namely the Moon-Silver elevated by the two figures. The naked woman is Diana and the man is the mythological Actaeon, an allegory of the admonition for men not to get too close to the world of the Gods without the necessary reverence. The Woman holds in her right hand a bunch of red grapes, a sexual and maternal enhancement of the milk of fertility which flows, directed towards the earth, from her breast in the form of a swarm of stars. Actaeon, on the other hand, holds in his left hand a clover, emblem of the three principles Sulphur, Mercury, and Salt.

A chain links the wrist of the woman to the sphere of clouds confirming the union with the upper hemisphere. In the diurnal part are placed the masculine symbols of the Rampant Lion, Man, the Sun, and the Phoenix. Like the Eagle, the bird that rises from its own ashes, protects with its wings the sphere of fire and air and upholds Man and the Lion united in the Sun. The Man is also chained to the celestial sphere. The line dividing the lower landscape starts from the single head of the Lions and, passing through the body of the alchemist, reaches the tree of Gold, the Dragon, the Seal of Solomon, the symbol of philosophical Mercury positioned at the intersection of the two axes, the horizontal and the vertical where the supreme union occurs.

The line continues in a completely imaginary form to the divine Tetragram. Thus, the artistic expression results in a representation of the "summa philosophica" where the depictions are "imagines agens" harmonious with the ancient language of the Doctrine of the Sages and the macro-microcosmic vision of the Universe. Adopting the alchemical motto "Pray, read, read, read, re-read, work and you will find" the engraving reveals its peculiar function as a mnemonic place in which all the mysteries of eternal wisdom have been stored. The explicit or implicit use of geometric shapes is an example of this.

The reference to the alchemical Opus therefore consists of the closed circle of diameter, the triangle obtainable by connecting the wrists of man and woman to the Tetragram, the triangle formed by the robe and the body of the Alchemist, the triangle formed by the union of the Sun and the Moon with the symbol of Mercury. Mediating the meanings of the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt, the geometric shapes reflect the course of the Sun in the sky, the origin and the end, birth and death, the feminine and masculine principle, the ternary composition of matter and the trinitarian nature of Divinity.

The same central nucleus, according to a common interpretation, represents the totality of the "world" contained in the divine existence or inapproachable Light. Throughout the engraving, the message is directed at the balanced interaction between the Archetypal World, the Macrocosm, the result of the union of the elements of water, fire, and their combinations, and the Microcosm, represented by Man created in the image of God and the Universe. According to the theory of "signatura", the background landscape is the iconography of the entire Nature transcribed into an infinite hermetic Book where the creatures are the words...'. The full text is available by clicking here!

Aside from everything, this iconography drives me crazy! The work is sold with Buyback and Blockchain Secured included, if desired! Do you want to sell your collection of alchemical images? Do you want to know the value of your collection of antique books? Contact us, we will be at your disposal for a free appraisal and to study together with you the best possible solution!