The Drowning King
attributed to Salomon Trismosin, c. 1582
No print size passed the check for this piece: at 8 x 10 in, Wrong shape: a 22% crop. We would rather show it than sell a soft print.
See pieces like it you can buyA crowned king sinks to his neck in a dark marsh, one hand raised, while a rescuer reaches from the bank. In the language of Splendor Solis this is the dissolution — the old king, the base matter, drowned and undone so that something new can be drawn out. Painted around 1582 in the manner of a Netherlandish miniature, the scene sets its violent alchemical meaning inside a mild pastoral landscape, all soft hills and careful trees, the border around it teeming with flowers. It is one of the manuscript's most memorable images: catastrophe rendered with the tenderness of a devotional page.
- Maker
- attributed to Salomon Trismosin
- Date
- c. 1582
- Medium of the original
- Plate
- Original held by
- British Library, Harley MS 3469 · scan: Wikimedia Commons
- Credit
- British Library, Harley MS 3469 · scan: Wikimedia Commons
- Rights
- Public domain, verified
- Catalogue number
- PA-00450
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 |
|---|---|
| 8 x 10 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 8 x 12 in | 128 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 11 x 14 in | Wrong shape: a 20% crop |
| 12 x 16 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 12 x 18 in | 85 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 16 x 20 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 16 x 24 in | 64 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 18 x 24 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 20 x 30 in | 51 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 24 x 30 in | Wrong shape: a 22% crop |
| 24 x 36 in | 42 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
| 30 x 40 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 36 x 48 in | Wrong shape: a 17% crop |
| 40 x 60 in | 25 dpi; a historical scan is never enlarged |
- Scanned
- 2026-10-07
- Master file
- 1,024 x 1,638 px, srgb
- Tone
- Darks 32, lights 226 of 255; 0% clipped light, 0% clipped dark
- Colour
- 10.8% vivid
- Sharpness
- 3.13
- Notes
- Vivid colour: canvas or luster paper shows it best
- Neutrals lean toward magenta: 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
