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The Four Elements: Air

Image credit: National Trust Images

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Air is represented here by the figure of Astronomy, seen with her orrery (a device to indicate the movement and relative position of planets) and flocks of exotic birds. 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. Many versions of sets of allegorical depictions of the four elements came out of the Brueghels' Antwerp studio. 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, who enjoyed a set with naked figures. In Spain, Philip IV distributed sets among the ladies of the court.

National Trust, Kingston Lacy

Wimborne Minster

Title

The Four Elements: Air

Date

c.1625/1632

Medium

oil on copper

Measurements

H 47.5 x W 82.5 cm

Accession number

1257084

Acquisition method

bequeathed by Ralph Bankes, 1981

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

National Trust, Kingston Lacy

Wimborne Minster, Dorset BH21 4EA England

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