Emblem XXI — Squaring the Circle
Michael Maier; engraved by Matthäus Merian, 1617
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 10 x 8 in, Wrong shape: a 14% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyA geometer sets his compass to square the circle around a man and a woman — the most famous diagram in alchemy. Michael Maier published it in 1617 in a book unlike any other: each of its fifty emblems came with an epigram and a fugue for three voices, alchemy set to be sung. The instruction hides in plain sight — begin with the square, pass through the triangle, arrive at the circle. Maier meant the image to be read, and heard, as one.
- Maker
- Michael Maier; engraved by Matthäus Merian
- Date
- 1617
- Medium of the original
- Engraving
- Original held by
- Published Oppenheim, 1617 · scan: Wikimedia Commons
- Credit
- Published Oppenheim, 1617 · scan: Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00457
Before a size goes on sale, the file is measured against it: pixels per inch at that size, how much of the picture a crop would lose, tone and sharpness. A size that fails is not offered, so there is nothing to choose wrong.
| Size | Why |
|---|---|
| 10 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 12 x 8 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
| 14 x 11 in | Wrong shape: a 16% crop |
| 16 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 19% crop |
| 18 x 12 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
| 20 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 24 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
| 24 x 18 in | Wrong shape: a 19% crop |
| 30 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
| 30 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 14% crop |
| 36 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
| 40 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 19% crop |
| 48 x 36 in | Wrong shape: a 19% crop |
| 60 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 28% crop |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,216 x 1,131 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 67, lights 199 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 0% vivid
- Sharpness
- 42.82
- Notes
- Neutrals lean warm (yellow): the paper and varnish of the original, kept as scanned
The Hermetica
The esoteric tradition’s emblems, astrological figures and the old charts of palmistry and phrenology.
All 58 pieces from The Hermetica
