Nov 18, 2016 · It’s a fascinating example of how alchemy has been depicted over the centuries, which is the subject of the new Getty Research Institute exhibition, The Art of Alchemy. The Body as Alchemical...

Contemporary alchemy art is inspired by multiple aspects of esotery such as Kabbalah, mythology, sacred geometry, as well as astronomy and psychics. David Chaim Smith explores the motif of Tree of Life by combining it with images of the body. Christopher Ulrich uses oil to delve into the imagery of religion, magic, mythology and the unconscious.

Many of the artworks in this gallery were painted during the 1600s and 1700s, when alchemy was enjoying a golden age. But this picture was painted a century later, and models a very different attitude towards alchemical work. By the 1800s, modern chemistry had begun to take shape, and many chemists were eager to leave old ideas behind.

An exhibition on how the mysterious art of alchemy transformed visual culture from antiquity to the Industrial Age.

The tone of European alchemical art from across the centuries can range from representational to humanizing, often using caricature, subtle satire, and theatrical gestures and poses. This exhibition featured depictions of chemistry and alchemy from the 17th through the 19th century.

Alchemy has had a long-standing relationship with art, seen both in alchemical texts and in mainstream entertainment. Literary alchemy appears throughout the history of English literature from Shakespeare to modern Fantasy authors. Here, characters or plot structure follow an alchemical magnum opus.

Explore the visual culture of this work in The Whole of Nature and the Mirror of Art, featuring reproduced engravings from alchemical books published in the 1600s. The detailed images depict a wide range of topics, including the secrets of the philosophers’ stone and fanciful images of the search for knowledge.

Alchemy may conjure up thoughts of mysticism, occult rituals, quests for gold. But its golden age (ca. 1300–1700) was marked by experimental discovery and practical skill. Physicians and chymists...

This scene depicts tools and materials used both in alchemy and in art—most notably the large écorché figure placed on the alchemist's table, which was used by artists and students of human anatomy.

The "noble art," as alchemy was known at its height in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was widely patronized and practiced in many European courts, including those of Hohenlohe, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Braunschweig-Lüneburg, Württemberg, Hessen-Kassel, Dresden, and …