How to Cite
Forshaw, Peter J.: An Amphitheatrical Microcosm: Heinrich Khunrath’s "Oratorium-Laboratorium", in Wagner, Berit and Gannon, Corinna (Eds.): Opus magnum: Matthäus Merian d.Ä. und die Bebilderung der Alchemie, Heidelberg: arthistoricum.net-ART-Books, 2024, p. 237–246. https://doi.org/10.11588/arthistoricum.1311.c19541
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Identifiers (Book)
ISBN 978-3-98501-245-9 (PDF)
ISBN 978-3-98501-246-6 (Hardcover)
Published
05/08/2024
An Amphitheatrical Microcosm
Heinrich Khunrath’s "Oratorium-Laboratorium"
The best-known engraving in the Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom (1595/1609) of the “doctor of both medicines and faithful lover of theosophy”, Heinrich Khunrath of Leipzig (1560-1605) is undoubtedly his circular “Theosophical” figure of the Oratorium-Laboratorium, which embodies his insistence on the joint necessity of work and prayer. This essay discusses these two main axes of the image, identifying sources for some of the embedded inscriptions, but also pays attention to the foreground and background of the engraving, locations which provide additional insights into Khunrath’s occult practice.
