Description
This magnificent edition of Splendor Solis is a fitting showcase for the manuscript’s 22 fabulous illustrations, rich in allegorical and mystical symbolism. The images are accompanied by Joscelyn Godwin’s excellent contemporary translation of the original German text, as well as enlightening commentary from three alchemical experts. Stephen Skinner explains how the symbolism of both text and illustrations describes the physical processes of alchemy.
Rafal T. Prinke explores current thinking on the authorship of both text and illustrations, discussing Splendor Solis as the turning point in alchemical iconography as it passed from the medieval tradition to that of the Baroque, and offering a fascinating new theory about who painted the original artworks. Georgiana Hedesan looks at the legendary figure of Salomon Trismosin and his creation by followers of Paracelsus as part of an attempt to integrate their master in a lineage of ancient alchemical philosophers.
