| Alchemist's laboratory, by Hans Vredeman de Vries, 1595 |
Alchemy was both a protoscientific and a philosophical discipline combining elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, spiritualism and art. It was practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Islamic empire, and then in Europe up to the nineteenth century — in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years. This illustration by architectural painter Hans Vredeman de Vries was used in Heinrich Khunrath's most famous work, Amphitheater of Eternal Wisdom (Hamburg, 1595). It depicts a contemporary alchemist's laboratory. Note the strong connection between spiritual and physical aspects, which was characteristic of alchemy. Illustration credit: Hans Vredeman de Vries |
