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About This Work
This engraving depicts the prophet Elisha as a bearded, barefoot man dressed in heavy classical robes. He stands near a riverbank with his right hand pressed to his chest and his left hand gesturing toward the ground, while the background features a rugged landscape with distant peaks and a small settlement.
As the successor to Elijah, Elisha represents the transmission of spiritual authority and prophetic vision, a theme central to the 'Prisca Theologia' (Ancient Theology) which sought to trace a lineage of hidden wisdom from biblical patriarchs to the Renaissance. The 'double portion' of Elijah's spirit granted to Elisha was occasionally used as a metaphor in later alchemical and Rosicrucian texts for the transmission of the 'Great Work' between master and pupil.
Inscriptions
HELISEVS *
Connected Texts
2 Kings (Old Testament)
The primary source for the life of Elisha, including his receipt of Elijah's mantle and his miracles.
Marsilio Ficino
Ficino's concept of the Prisca Theologia includes the biblical prophets as part of a continuous chain of divine wisdom connecting Hebrew and Platonic traditions.
Provenance & Source
Object
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
paper
height 116 mm x width 81 mm
religious
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3-flash-preview on April 2, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.