Third Day of Creation: Land and Water

A divine winged figure descends from a radiant sky, wielding a rod to divide two reclining personifications. To the left, a muscular man with vegetation blooming from his head represents the dry land, while a woman on the right represents the primordial waters. This circular engraving utilizes dynamic, twisting figures to illustrate the separation of elements during the formation of the world.

This work visualizes the cosmogony of Genesis through the lens of Renaissance natural philosophy, where creation is an act of divine 'separatio.' This concept of extracting order from chaos by dividing the elements was central to both Neoplatonic thought and alchemical theory regarding the 'massa confusa.'