The Adoration of Fire

The Adoration of Fire & Public Rejoycings of the Natives of Virginia, on their deliverance from any danger signal.

From: Cérémonies et Coutumes Religieuses de tous les peuples du monde, représentées par des figures dessinées de la main de Bernard Picard, avec une explication historique. Bernard Picart's illustrated survey of religious practices around the world borrowed from the published Theodore de Bry engravings, 1590. The images were enlarged and some flipped left to right, but otherwise little was altered.

(1673-1733) Born in Paris, Bernard Picart died in Amsterdam. Listed in Benezit's Dictionary of Artists, Picart is listed as a painter, miniaturist, engraver, draughtsman.

Picart chose to depict allegorical subjects, mythological subjects and portraits.  "Heir to the tradition of Jacques Callot, his figures are drawn wit precision and sometimes minute detail and have a particular elegance and a lively technique that anticipates the spirit of the 18th century, particularly that of Gillot and Watteau. Picart was able to achieve a synthesis of Dutch taste and French wit. He was perhaps the most remarkable figure in Dutch engraving in the first third of the 18th century and he was clearly influenced by the French School."