Pluto

A muscular, nude Pluto stands with his back to the viewer, wearing a crown and clutching a bident. He looks out over a desolate landscape of smoke and burning buildings, where small figures of the dead appear in the background. In the foreground, an ornate classical urn lies overturned on the ground, likely referencing the rivers of the underworld or subterranean wealth.

Pluto represents the chthonic forces of the cosmos and the hidden interior of the earth, which in alchemical thought was the site of the 'Prima Materia.' This work reflects the Mannerist interest in the 'hidden' aspects of nature, often linked to the alchemical acronym V.I.T.R.I.O.L. (Visita Interiora Terrae...), instructing the seeker to find the hidden stone in the depths of the earth.