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resembling a portrait, are more than just witty virtuoso pieces. They, too, state that nothing is as it appears, that changing perspectives can transform the random into the purposeful, the unknown into the familiar, a face into a bowl of fruit, that art could be nature and nature art. As in Hainhofer's Kunstsckrank, the eye was easily deceived while the subtle and occult harmony of the universe stood revealed by the artist's hand. The artist's poetic insight bared the disegno interna underlying the divine creation, and this divinity itself was revealed to be an artist. The grotesque and the totality of excess were only the flipside of the simplicity of the eternal truth. The items in Rudolf's Kunstkammer bore witness to this conviction: somewhere in their staggering multiplicity and diversity lay hidden that kernel of eternal truth which the alchemists called the Philosopher's Stone. To find it would be to grasp the beating heart of creation itself. The collection itself became an instrument: the greatest alchemistic laboratory the1 world had ever seen.
For all the dazzling exoticism of the collection, Rudolf was no naive j lover of everything strange. He insisted that the bodies of birds of I paradise (thought to be forever airborne as most specimens reached I Europe without feet), be drawn and painted with legs, so that thm fiction around the object was contrasted with the imagined reality. This scientific bent, though, did not prevent him from collecting magical I objects, such as the Paracelsian zenexton, an amulet enclosed by J bejewelled gold case and containing a cake made of toads, virginal menstrual blood, white arsenic, orpiment, dittany, roots, pearls, coral and Eastern emeralds, the recipe for which appeared under imperia privilege in Basilica chymica (1609). _
Rudolf was especially proud of his unicorns' horns, mandrakes ana dragons, which so much impressed the court physician de Broodt tha he made a drawing of one of them, adding 'this is the figure of a Dragon which the Emperor Rudolf II has; dried it is this exact sfl where it is preserved'. The relics held in the vaults were charao istically not Christian but classical in orientation and included 0 from Noah's ark, and the jaw of one of the sirens that Odysseus J encountered.
Among the books in Rudolf's library, symbolic knowledge prominently in works on Egyptian hieroglyphs, alchemical, m
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than just witty virtuoso pieces. They, pears, that changing perspectives can : purposeful, the unknown into the it, that art could be nature and nature ank, the eye was easily deceived while of the universe stood revealed by the ic insight bared the disegno interno ind this divinity itself was revealed to 1 the totality of excess were only the eternal truth. The items in Rudolf's this conviction: somewhere in their rsity lay hidden that kernel of eternal :d the Philosopher's Stone. To find it leart of creation itself. The collection le greatest alchemistic laboratory the
of the collection, Rudolf was no naive e insisted that the bodies of birds of : airborne as most specimens reached rn and painted with legs, so that the ntrasted with the imagined reality. This : prevent him from collecting magical n zenexton, an amulet enclosed byJ lining a cake made of toads, virginal , orpiment, dittany, roots, pearls, coral pe for which appeared under imperial
609).---- m
of his unicorns' horns, mandrakes aj ssed the court physician de broodt that ' them, adding 'this is the figure ofl udolf II has; dried it is this exact sifl lies held in the vaults were characcj sical in orientation and included V of one of the sirens rhat Odysseus ■
's library, symbolic knowledge ngu|
ptian hieroglyphs, alchemical, ni«
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and Rosicrucian tracts and other works investigating symbols, magical seals and emblems. It appears that the emperor was well read in this neo-Platonist literature. Other magical texts and books by Jewish Talmudic and cabbalistic scholars added to the library. Rudolf's interest in the magical arts went further than just inviting its practitioners to his court, for he himself was actively involved. In 1609, the Tuscan ambassador sniffed disdainfully, 'for he himself tries alchemical experiments and he himself is busily engaged in making clocks, which is against the decorum of a prince. He has transferred his seat from the imperial throne to the workshop stool'.5
Attracted by the emperor's reputation, the English occult scholar John Dee arrived in Prague in 15 84. He had been adviser and astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, had had an influential post at court and was in a good position to pursue his main ambition: to regain the perfect, primeval knowledge that Adam had had, which humankind had lost with the fall, and thus to understand the cryptic correspondences between all things and the universal core of truth contained in them. His hopes of achieving this goal were bound up in a mystic emblem, the Monas kieroglyphica, designed to elevate spirits through meditation of its mystical, geometrical and theological connotations. He quickly gained an audience with Rudolf, which lasted for a full hour. Dee outlined his method of gaining arcane knowledge and also told him, according to his own handwritten protocols:
It pleased God to send me his Light; and his holy Angels, for these two years and a half, have used to inform me: yea, they have brought me a Stone of that value that no earthly Kingdom is of rhat worthiness as to be compared to the e and dignity thereof, etc.
of the Lord hath appeared to me, and rebuketh you for your sins. |U will hear me, and believe me, you shall Triumph: if you will not hear ic Lord, the God that made Heaven and Hearth, putteth his foot against >reast, and will throw you headlong down from your seat. rer, the Lord hath made his covenant with me . . . If you will forsake 'Se, and turn unto him, your Scat shall be the greatest that ever te Devil shal1 become your prisoner: Which Devil, I did conjecture, * Great Turk. This my Comission, is from God."
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:
The emperor was horrified by this message, and sceptical about the messenger, about the Great Turk and Dee's more personal motives for seeking to take charge of Rudolf's salvation. Dee was never again allowed to appear in front of the emperor and was banned from the Habsburg territories two years later.
As an intellectual approach to the mysteries of the universe, alchemy and magic were seen to be right at the cutting edge of a scientific method which had as yet no way of distinguishing between phenomena such as magnetism and other presumed 'sympathies' between substances, between the existence of iguanas and sea snakes already discovered and the lore of dragons that might still be awaiting discovery in lands as yet unreached. Natural magic, the pursuit of the prisca theologica, the first knowledge revealed to Adam and handed down in a hermetic tradition to Moses, Orpheus, Pythagoras and later magi, assumed that the key to the understanding of the world lay inj deciphering the alphabet in which the universe was written at | creation. There are strong echoes of this in our modern preoccupatio; with the genetic code and the creative, indeed demiurgical, possibilities raised in understanding and controlling it. It is in itself no less strange than the assumption that all elements were constructed according to an occult 'genetic' code, and that unravelling and changing it would allow initiates to change mud into gold.
To the alchemists and the magicians of the sixteenth century, tm dividing line between the natural and the occult was simply that natural phenomena were those that occurred most of the time, according m the 'habits of nature', and manifestly to the senses. Occult phenomena were those that differed from the norm, or those that were hidd* from sensory perception. In accordance with this conception, gravm magnetism and acoustic resonance were all counted among the occm phenomena, together with the pneuma, the spirit realm governingtfl object world, and with the symbols presumed capable of unlocking* secrets. In investigating these, the alchemists were scientists.
The central notion in the alchemical conception of the worl^H the idea of pneuma or spiritus mundi, the invisible fluid medirm worid spirit that linked all elements and entities in the universe wfl existence was accepted by scientists and thinkers as different fro^B another as the author of the Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert Buq
0
04 ff
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f this message, and sceptical about the irk and Dee's more personal motives for idolf's salvation. Dee was never again the emperor and was banned from the :s later.
to the mysteries of the universe, alchemy right at the cutting edge of a scientific /ay of distinguishing between phenomena er presumed 'sympathies' between sub- i nee of iguanas and sea snakes already igons that might still be awaiting discovery J Natural magic, the pursuit of the prisca j [ge revealed to Adam and handed down in] ses, Orpheus, Pythagoras and later magi i the understanding of the world lay im n which the universe was written at itJ choes of this in our modern preoccupation i ie creative, indeed demiurgical, possibilities I d controlling it. It is in itself no less strange dl elements were constructed according to nd that unravelling and changing it would md into gold.
:he magicians of the sixteenth century, tfl atural and the occult was sim ply that natural tat occurred most of the time, according to manifestly to the senses. Occult phenom^B from the norm, or those that were hidden In accordance with this conception, gravM esonance were all counted among the ocaM h the pneuma, the spirit realm governing !■ ie symbols presumed capable of unlockin^B hese, the alchemists were scientists, the alchemical conception of the worldM spiritus mundi, the invisible fluid medifj ill elements and entities in the universe wM >y scientists and thinkers as different from* : the Anatomy of Melancholy, Robert BuJB
pignut
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who described it as a 'most subtle vapour, which is expressed from the Blood and the instrument of the Soul, to perform all his Actions, a common type of medium, betwixt the Body and the soule,'8 and Isaac Newton, who assumed the existence of an aether linking the sublunar realm to the cosmos. The spiritus mundi was everywhere, and it is indeed far from vanished from contemporary thinking. It has survived, though transformed, in the political and philosophical traditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the shape of Hegel's Welt-geist, the World Spirit realizing itself in history through the dialectic process; an idea taken up and developed not only by Marx, but also by other thinkers in the Hegelian tradition. Nationalism, the idea that the essence or destiny of a nation can be realized only if uncontami-nated by foreign influences and allowed to flourish, is one aspect of Hegel's national spirits through which the World Spirit, the destiny of history, works its mysteries.
("Collecting as a philosophical project} as an attempt to make sense of the multiplicity and chaos of the world, and perhaps even to find in it a hidden meaning, has also survived to our day, and we find echoes of Rudolf's elaborate alchemy in every attempt to capture the wonder and magnitude of everything around in the realm of personal possession. A record collector seeking the essence of genius in hundreds of recordings of the same concert or of the same artist continues this tradition in the same way as someone trying to capture beauty itself in everything that is 'rich and strange'-' - a phrase, incidentally, from Rudolf's day. This practical alchemy is at work whenever a collection reaches beyond appreciating objects and becomes a quest for meaning, for the heart of rhe matter, a hope to be able to see a grammar if only enough words and phrases are brought together.
udolf's Mannerist universe complemented the course taken by Ulisse llrovandi and Ins fellow naturalists. And while, in the age-old oppo-
pall philosophy, the latter cast himself as a new Aristotle, the M orientation of Mannerists followed Platonic ideas. Giovanni m Mirandola summed up this project in one phrase: 'Nam si p parvus mundus, utrique mundus est magnus homo,H) ('For jisa small world, the world, by turns, is a large man').
[ mvstical and the critical method of collecting were
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responses to the challenge of recent discoveries and new horizons. The analytical, Aristotelian rhetoric of the high Renaissance seemed to provide the answer to some, while others found it wanting. They turned to the traditions of Hermetic knowledge promising the single, occult key to a multiplicity of problems. Among the opponents of such neo-Platonist collections, Sir Francis Bacon was particularly trenchant in his critique of the mystical hotchpotch of ideas and correspondences:
There is such a multitude and host as it were of particular objects, and lying so widely dispersed, as to distract and confuse the understanding; and we can therefore hope for no advantage from its skirmishing, and quick movements and incursions, unless we put its forces in due order and array by means of proper, and well arranged, and as it were living tables of discovery of these matters which are the subject of investigation, and the mind then apply itself to the ready prepared and digested aid which such tables afford.
When we have thus properly and regularly placed before the eyes a collection of particulars we must not immediately proceed to the investigation and discovery of new particulars or effects, or, at least, if we do so, must not rest satisfied therewith.'1
Bacon was on the winning side. The scientists and philosophers, the pan-sophists, eirenists, Hermetists, neo-Stoics and neo-Platonists, Paracelseans and chiliasts were soon dismissed when rationalism began to provide more powerful and verifiable answers to many of the problems that had been exercising European thinkers. Rudolf's policies of balance and indecision, later distorted by paranoid wilfulness, were arguably an illustration of the powerlessness of these ideas to provide solutions to problems in the prosaic realm of human lives. For a brief period, however, the return to neo-Platonism and the search for the great idea seemed to contain the answer that found its expression in the most splendid collection of the period. Only in the twentieth century would the search for the Big Idea be taken up again, and again with catastrophic results.
As his collections, forever unable to satisfy his appetite, grew to legendary size, Rudolf the politician became an increasingly emba ttled and disputed figure. He had always been a complex man, oscillating between conscientious government and obsessive pursuit of his ideas, great moderation and phenomenal excess, between kindness and fits of
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ecent discoveries and new horizons. The ric of the high Renaissance seemed to , while others found it wanting. They rrmetic knowledge promising the single, problems. Among the opponents of such irancis Bacon was particularly trenchant otchpotch of ideas and correspondences:
:>st as it were of particular objects, and lying t and confuse the understanding; and we can : from its skirmishing, and quick movements s forces in due order and array by means of as it were living tables of discovery of these investigation, and the mind then apply itself :ed aid which such tables afford, nd regularly placed before the eyes a collection mediately proceed to the investigation and effects, or, at least, if we do so, must not rest
ig side. The scientists and philosophers, lermetists, neo-Stoics and neo-Platonists, re soon dismissed when rationalism began and verifiable answers to many of the rcising European thinkers. Rudolf's poli-m, later distorted by paranoid wilfulness, J >n of the powerlessness of these ideas to I is in the prosaic realm of human lives. For J return to neo-Platonism and the search fori ain the answer that found its expression in I m of the period. Only in the twentiethl : the Big Idea be taken up again, and again j
:r unable to satisfy his appetite, grew to alitician became an increasingly embattled I 1 always been a complex man, oscillating J rnment and obsessive pursuit of his ideas,! >menal excess, between kindness and fits oil
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rage approachability and total withdrawal, generosity and paranoia.
During the later stages of his life conjecture and rumour abounded in the streets of Prague and at the courts of Europe as to the contents 0f the famous Kunstkammer, and about its owner's state of mind. As his passion had become known, princes had made it a point of honour, and of policy, to search their own palaces for the finest pieces to ue sent to Rudolf. The ambassador from the Duke of Savoy, Carlo Francesco Manfredi, reported with delight that Rudolf had spent 'two and a half hours sitting motionless, looking at the painting of fruit and fish markets sent by Your Highness'.12 The ambassador was not always so lucky with the emperor's changeable moods. During his second isit, he was made to wait a full nine months before being granted an audience and being allowed to present his gifts of friendship: 'an Indian dagger', a rhinoceros horn encrusted with rubies, three be-zoars, 'a large silver ship that con tained inside it half of an Indian nut, larger than a man's head', and a crown. This time, however, the bearer of gifts was treated to a tour around the collections, which was conducted by two servants (the emperor himself only showed round other crowned heads). He was especially  impressed  by a polished stone 'and in the vein of the stone "Christ" was written by nature's hand in big letters', he reported. Nature had spoken to the emperor through the stone.
Rudolf's collection and his widely reported 'ailment of melancholy' increasingly interfered with the business of state, sometimes making it well nigh impossible. Around the change of the century, i"st after the death of his uncle
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Philip II in 1598, a crisis occurred. The emperor's mood swings worsened. When he heard that Isabella of Spain, tired by twenty years of fruitless negotiations, had decided to marry one of his brothers, he exploded in a fit of rage. Soon afterwards he dismissed two of his most trusted administrators, Wolf Rumpf and Paulus Sixt von Troutson. He also seems to have attempted committing suicide with curtain cords and splinters of glass. The emperor was confused and distrustful to the point of paranoia, refused to see petitioners, ministers and ambassadors, and relied for everything on a small group of lackeys and minor aristocrats of dubious stature who effectively constituted his government and held in their hands enormous power. Even the once highly trusted Spanish ambassador San Clemente, Rudolf's link to the court of his childhood and youth, could not gain an audience and was unable to catch a glimpse of the emperor for two years.
By 1600, Rudolf was a changed man and it was commonly believed that he had been bewitched by his enemies, but he could still impress foreign emissaries with his dignity, intellect and charm. The Venetian envoy Soranzo met the emperor in 1607. Rudolf, he said, was
. . . rather small in figure, of quite pleasing stature and relatively quick movements. His pale face, nobly formed forehead, fine wavy hair and beard and large eyes looking around with a certain forbearance, made a deep impression on all who met him. The Habsburg family likeness was evident in their largish lips which curled towards the right. There was nothing haughty in his comportment: he behaved rather shyly, avoided all noisy society and took no part in the usual amusements; jokes pleased him not, and only rarely was he seen to laugh.13
Despite being able to summon his old qualities at times, Rudolf was increasingly beleaguered by religious and political problems, and his days as an even remotely effective ruler were now numbered. His politics had long been hostage to his indecision and to the hatred he felt for Matthias, his ambitious brother who had forged strong alliances with Protestant and Hungarian nobles. Soon, brother stood against brother, and Matthias swiftly consolidated his advantage by marching into Prague. In an effort to avert his downfall Rudolf, no longer in command of the political situation and manipulated by his entourage, put his fate in the hands of his 23-year-old nephew,
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xurred. The emperor's mood swings t Isabella of Spain, tired by twenty years decided to marry one of his brothers, he afterwards he dismissed two of his most Rumpf and Paulus Sixt von Troutson. ;ed committing suicide with curtain cords peror was confused and distrustful to the i see petitioners, ministers and ambassa-ig on a small group of lackeys and minor e who effectively constituted his govern-> enormous power. Even the once highly San Clemente, Rudolf's link to the court ould not gain an audience and was unable ?eror for two years.
inged man and it was commonly believed by his enemies, but he could still impress! lignity, intellect and charm. The Venetian
:ror in 1607. Rudolf, he said, was
ite pleasing stature and relatively quick movel rmed forehead, fine wavy hair and beard ana a certain forbearance, made a deep impressiol absburg family likeness was evident in thei| ds the right. There was nothing haughty in Ml ler shyly, avoided all noisy society and took nfl joke;, pleased him not, and only rarely waslfl
non his old qualities at times, Rudolf was f religious and political problems, and his effective ruler were now numbered. His cage to his indecision and to the hatred he itious brother who had forged strong allfl I Hungarian nobles. Soon, brother stood hias swiftly consolidated his advantage bra an effort to avert his downfall Rudolf, nfl political situation and manipulated by njB n the hands of his 23-year-old nephew!
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Leopold, who was charged with opposing Matthias. Prague was in a state of civil war, with plundering troops ravaging the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter. At the critical moment, when Matthias approached with his own forces, Leopold's mercenaries abandoned the town and ]eft Rudolf to see his brother crowned King of Bohemia, while he himself was granted an annuity and the ceremonial title of emperor. Having lost all power, he finally had the solitude he craved. But this last period of his life lasted for less than two years, and he died on 20 January 1612. His grand experiment of collecting as practical alchemy had come to an end once and for all.
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