Distilleerapparaat 1672

This engraving by Albert Flamen depicts a distilling apparatus, an instrument that embodies the transformative power of alchemy. In Flamen's time, the distiller was not merely a scientific tool, but a symbol deeply intertwined with the alchemical quest for purification and the extraction of the quintessence. Consider the element of fire here. The heat source beneath the vessel evokes the intense emotional and psychological states alchemists believed were necessary for transformation. Fire, like the passions, could purify or destroy. Similarly, the vessel, reminiscent of a womb, speaks to the alchemical process of gestation and rebirth. We can see echoes of this motif in medieval depictions of the philosopher’s egg, where the vessel is crucial for spiritual incubation. The alchemist, like the artist, sought to transmute base materials into something precious. The practice of distillation also resonates with the human experience—our capacity to distill wisdom from suffering, much like the alchemist extracts the essence from raw matter. It is a powerful metaphor for the ongoing human project.