JOHANN JAKOB SCHEUCHZER
KUPFER-BIBEL ODER PHYSICA SACRA, 4 BÄNDE, 1731-1735
THE KUPFER-BIBEL AS A MONUMENTAL WORK
The four-volume work comprises over 2000 pages and 750 copper plates. The complete title of the German edition, which appeared parallel to the Latin edition, is "Copper Bible, in which the Physica sacra or sacred natural science of the natural things occurring in the Holy Scriptures is clearly explained and proven". The purpose of the Kupfer-Bibel was to prove the existence of God via the natural science of that time.
This theological undertaking is reflected in the overall concept of the work. The Bible provides the framework on which the content and order of the chapters are based. Central to each chapter is a biblical quote, illustrated with a lavishly produced copper plate engraving.
There are three different types of copper plate engraving:
1. The illustration of individual objects in front of a deep spatial landscape in a fanciful frame. 2. The illustration of three-dimensional objects in a simple frame. 3. Simpler, unframed illustrations.