Danger

Needless to say, the physical as well as moral danger of harnessing such destructive power provides another theme for alchemical paintings. In many of these images, the alchemist appears to be struggling to keep the fire under control: the woodcut by Hans Weiditz (1558) is one such example, and first image above is another. In other examples, like the second and third above, a chemical vessel on the fire dramatically explodes.