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Notes
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Air is represented here by a figure of Astronomy with her orrery (a device to indicate the movement and relative position of planets) and flocks of exotic birds, including the now extinct Dodo. According to Aristotelian science, the four elements were the basic components of the material world, each of which corresponded to one of the humours of the human body and temperament. Many versions of sets of allegorical depictions of the four elements came out of the Brueghels' Antwerp studio in the early seventeenth century. The sets were popular in Italy, particularly with their patron Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564–1631), Archbishop of Milan and founder of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, and his assistant Ercole Bianchi. In Spain, Philip IV distributed sets among the ladies of the court.
Title
One of the Four Elements: Air
Date
c.1621–1632
Medium
oil on copper
Measurements
H 49.5 x W 66 cm
Accession number
732104
Acquisition method
gift from Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare along with the estate, house and its contents, 1946
Work type
Painting
