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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileAurora-dinkingblood
This miniature depicts two pale, seated figures against a dark, monochromatic background. The figure on the left, with reddish hair, holds a cup to their mouth, while the figure on the right, who appears to have a severed or bleeding midsection, holds a bright red chalice toward the first figure. Both figures are stylized with minimal anatomical detail; their bodies are painted in a light, fleshy tone that contrasts sharply with the deep green backdrop. The scene emphasizes motifs of blood, consumption, and bodily integrity, common in early alchemical allegory.
This image is a seminal illustration from the 'Aurora Consurgens', a 15th-century alchemical manuscript attributed to Thomas Aquinas. It represents the 'Chemical Wedding' or the conjunction of opposites—male and female, sun and moon—essential to the transmutation process.
Aurora Consurgens
This is a standard illumination found in early manuscripts of this alchemical treatise.
Object
manuscript-illumination
parchment
Late Middle Ages
European
manuscript-illumination
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
647 × 348 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.