Ruit met Elias in de woestijn

A bearded man rests in a sparse landscape between two large trees, extending his arm to catch a loaf of bread dropped by a raven. Another raven descends from the sky, while the scene is captured within an oval glass pane featuring a sophisticated Mannerist treatment of the landscape. The bottom of the work contains a Dutch inscription identifying the scene from the First Book of Kings.

In Western esoteric circles, particularly the Paracelsian tradition, Elijah was identified with 'Elias Artista,' a promised messianic figure who would appear to reveal all hidden chemical and natural secrets. His period of isolation and divine sustenance in the desert served as a model for the alchemical or spiritual seeker's reliance on revelation over worldly knowledge.