(9) alchemy

On the other hand, Bruegel might have confused an almanac illustration and an alchemy book on purpose in order to lump together ancient words, names, and book titles starting with the Arabic word al. The impoverished alchemist is reduced to leaving all that behind and applying for public charity. But in the Americas the term reducción specifically meant the reorganization of Indians under the missionary system, even if it sounded like part of the definition of some alchemical process. The picture-within-a-picture shows what reducción would look like in the Netherlands, and the larger picture shows it as a consequence of spending too much time and money on alchemy.
The print was first published with a Latin caption having to do with minerals and clouds, and there were two different later versions with French and Dutch captions (see note).