Artist · 4 prints
Heinrich Khunrath Prints
About Heinrich Khunrath
Heinrich Khunrath was a German physician and alchemist, born in Saxony around 1560, who died in 1605. He studied at the University of Basel, where he took his medical degree in 1588, and went on to practise medicine in German cities including Hamburg and Dresden.
Khunrath is remembered for Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae, or Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom, a book that weaves together Christian prayer, mystical ideas and alchemy, the old search for the secret of transforming matter. It was first printed in the 1590s and appeared again in an expanded edition in 1609, after his death. Its large, intricate engraved plates, crowded with symbols, inscriptions and figures, are the main reason the book has long been admired. Its blend of faith and magic was controversial: in 1625 the Sorbonne in Paris formally condemned it.
Heinrich Khunrath prints: reproductions of the engraved plates from Heinrich Khunrath's alchemical book Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae (Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom), taken from the 1609 edition. The collection includes The Alchemist's Laboratory, The Philosopher's Stone, Syzygy: the Conjunction of the Macrocosmic Unity with the Microcosmic Triunity, and Scheme of Christian Kabbalism.
This selection keeps to the book's best-known plates. The Alchemist's Laboratory shows a scholar kneeling in prayer beside a furnace and a table of instruments. The other plates are round or diagrammatic designs packed with Latin and Hebrew inscriptions, rays of light and symbolic figures. All are black-and-white engravings with very fine line work that rewards close viewing.
The detailed black-and-white plates suit studies, libraries, home offices and hallways, and look best at a larger size where the small lettering can be read. All prints are museum-quality reproductions, available unframed or framed with acrylic glazing, with free shipping and import duties covered.
