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About This Work
This engraving illustrates the duality of fire as both a life-sustaining force and a tool for the transformative, often greedy, pursuits of alchemy. The elderly alchemist is shown manipulating materials in a crucible, surrounded by laboratory equipment, while a woman beside him gestures toward material wealth, highlighting the tension between the practical utility of heat and the futility of gold-making. In the background, scenes of volcanic activity and active kilns reinforce the theme of fire's powerful and chaotic nature.
The work reflects the Renaissance moralization of the four elements, specifically critiquing the 'false' or 'fallacious' art of alchemy that leads to ruin. It engages with contemporary debates in natural philosophy regarding the limits of human artifice versus natural processes.
Inscriptions(Latin)
I G N I S . Igne quid vtilius; modò non sit et eius abusus, Nam foetus a flammis, et quod tenet omnia, dictus Frigida membra leuat, sensus quoque nutric, et escas Extorret; rebusque addit, res mira, saporem. At tu diuitias, multo et quae parta labore Pondera sunt auri, per flammas perdere pergis? Imponit multis ars Alcunistica fallax; Autoremque suam tandem execratur et ipsa. Maerten de Vos figurauit Crispin van de Passe sculp: et exc:
Translation
FIRE. What is more useful than fire, provided it is not abused? For it is named for flames, and because it holds all things, It warms cold limbs, nourishes the senses, and roasts food; And, a wondrous thing, it adds flavor to things. But you, why do you proceed to lose through the flames Wealth and weights of gold produced by much labor? The fallacious art of Alchemy imposes on many; And in the end, it even curses its own author. Maerten de Vos designed [it] Crispin van de Passe engraved and published [it].
Connected Texts
Maarten de Vos
The artist who provided the design for this engraving, known for his prolific work in 16th-century allegorical print series.
Provenance & Source
Object
Engraving
allegory
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 14, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.