The Four Elements
Hendrik van Balen the Elder (Antwerp 1575 - Antwerp 1632)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1621 - 1632 (death of Balen)
Materials
Oil on copper
Measurements
711 x 889 mm (28 x 35 in)
Order this imageCollection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 732304
Caption
Allegorical depictions of the Four Elements, as pictorial encyclopedia of the natural world with a profusion of botanical and zoological detail, emanated from the Antwerp studio of Jan 'Velvet' Brueghel the Elder (1568- 1625) in the early 17th century. The subject became popular in Italy, particularly with the Brueghel’s patron Cardinal Federico Borromeo (1564—1631), Archbishop of Milan and founder of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and his assistant, Ercole Bianchi. 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. Each Element is represented here by a pagan deity, bearing appropriate attributes, whilst the biblical story of Creation takes place in the background. Water is represented by a nymph with fish, Earth carries a cornucopia, Air is in the sky with birds and flying cupids and Fire is alluded to by the smoking mountain. This type of depiction showing all Four Elements in a unified scene later evolved to four separate works. Sets were distributed around Europe, particularly at the court of Philip IV and can be found at Kingston Lacy (NT) and Saltram (NT).
Summary
Oil painting on copper, The Four Elements by Jan Brueghel the younger (Antwerp 1601 - Antwerp 1678) and Hendrick van Balen (Antwerp 1575 - Antwerp 1632). Each element is represented by a pagan deity with appropriate attributes. In the left foreground, the personification of Water, with nymph and fishes; in the right, Earth with nymph, fruit and cornucopia; in the sky, Apollo/the Sun, with a smoking mountain beneath (Fire); and a goddess with birds and flying cupids (Air). In the background, the Creation, as narrated in the Bible, takes place.
Provenance
Bought by Henry Hoare II (1705-85) in 1765. Given to the National Trust along with the house, its grounds, and the rest of contents by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 -1947) in 1946.
Credit line
Stourhead, The Hoare Collection (National Trust)
Marks and inscriptions
Verso: Inscription in pencil on the back of copper plate and frame: 22
Makers and roles
Hendrik van Balen the Elder (Antwerp 1575 - Antwerp 1632) Jan Brueghel the Younger (Antwerp 1601 - Antwerp 1678)
References
Stourhead 1785 Schedule of Pictures left by Henry Hoare at his death, 1785, Cabinet Room: Four Elements: Brueghel and Van Balen