Splendor Solis - Sonnenglanz

Splendor Solis – Sonnenglanz

How does one make gold from any substance? What is the philosopher’s stone and how does one manufacture it? And how can one also ennoble one’s soul in the process? These and other questions of alchemy are answered by the manuscript dated to 1531/2, which was probably made for the Fugger family in Augsburg and which is now stored in the Museum of Prints and Drawings in Berlin. This manuscript of the Splendor Solis is counted among the most beautiful German works of the 16th century. It is an important alchemical treatise written at the dawn of modern science accompanied by a series of elaborate images set in ornamental borders and niches similar in style to the decorative borders used in contemporary books of hours. The manuscript’s symbolic process follows the alchemical death and rebirth of a king, followed by a series of 7 flasks, each associated with one of the planets. Within the flasks a process is shown involving the transformation of bird and animal symbols into the Queen and King, represented by white and red pigment.

The Tenets of Alchemy

The richly illuminated luxury manuscript is the oldest surviving specimen of the basic teachings of alchemy. On the one hand, it is concerned with finding philosopher’s stone and the key to the changing and refinement of matter therewith, on the other hand, the profane pursuit of wealth and power plays a considerable role: the production of gold. Typical alchemical processes were described and congenially illustrated in full-page miniatures. The illuminator had the task of translating the descriptions in the treatise, which are not always easily comprehensible and often vague, in clear illustrations and pictorial narrative. In doing so, the unusual theme required a high degree of creative intelligence.

Jörg Breu the Elder or Albrecht Glockendon?

The illuminator, whose identity remains contested to this day, must have interlinked his own world of imagery oriented on Christian and mythological art with the profane alchemical text, which he realized in seldom-achieved perfection. A comprehensive stock of motifs served his new inventions and compilations, which were drawn from extremely diverse contexts. In addition to older illuminated alchemical tracts, from which he was able to extract subject-specific hieroglyphics, he primarily had contemporary printmaking to draw on as a repertory.

Repeatedly Copied and All Over the World Today

Due to its fascinating theme and the quality of its miniatures, the Splendor Solis was already copied by hand many times and as such, ca. 20 manuscripts of this treaty are in existence. Aside from the Berlin specimen (the oldest), there are also a copies in the British Library in London, the Spanish National Library in Madrid, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. Nevertheless, it was no “bestseller” in the true sense of the word for a simple reason: the original manuscript was not sold by its owner for gold, but rather was only lent to high-ranking persons to allow them to copy it.