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Alchemy in art and entertainment

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David Garrick as Abel Drugger in Jonson's The Alchemist,c. 1770 byJohann Zoffany

Alchemyhas had a long-standing relationship with art, seen both in alchemical texts and in mainstream entertainment.Literary alchemyappears throughout the history of English literature fromShakespeareto modernFantasyauthors. Here, characters or plot structure follow an alchemicalmagnum opus.In the fourteenth century, Chaucer began a trend of alchemical satire that can still be seen in recent fantasy works like those ofTerry Pratchett.

Visual artists had a similar relationship with alchemy. While some of them used alchemy as a source of satire, others worked with the alchemists themselves or integrated alchemical thought orsymbolsin their work. Music was also present in the works of alchemists and continues to influence popular performers. In the last hundred years, alchemists have been portrayed in a magical andspagyric(ie. medicinal) role in fantasy fiction, film, television, comics and video games.

Visual art[edit]

Alchemical engraving published by Lucas Jennis inMichael Maier'sTripus Aureus(1618)

Jan Bäcklund and Jacob Wamberg categorize alchemical art into the following four groups:

  1. images made within the alchemical culture proper;
  2. genre images which portray alchemists and their environment;
  3. religious, mythological or genre images which appropriate alchemical ideas or motifs as a kind of Panofskian ‘disguised symbolism’; and
  4. images which show structural affinities with alchemy without iconographically alluding to it.[1]

Within the first group are the illuminations and emblems found within the alchemical texts themselves. Illustrations appeared in early works such as theChrysopoeia of Cleopatrabut were largely absent in medieval works until the mid-thirteenth century. In the early fifteenth century, significant pictorial elements began to appear in alchemical works such as the Ripley Scroll and theMutus Liber.[2]This trend developed further in sixteenth centuryemblems.Inspired by the work ofHorapollo,this allegorical art form was adopted by alchemists and used in the engravings ofMatthäus Merian,Lucas Jennis,Johann Theodor de Bry,Aegidius Sadeler,and others.[3]

The trend of depicting alchemists ingenre worksbegan withPieter Brueghel the Elder(c. 1525–1569), and was continued in the work ofJan Steen(1626–1679) andDavid Teniers the Younger(1610–1690).

Alchemy has also played a role in the evolution of paint. Alchemists and pigment manufacture intersect as early as theLeyden papyrus XandStockholm papyrus,and as late asRobert Boyle'sOrigin of Formes and Qualities(1666). The pigment recipes of artists such asCennino Cenniniand Theophilus have been influenced by both the practical and theoretical aspects of alchemy, and contained some allegorical and magical elements.[4]

Modern art and exhibition[edit]

Some contemporary artists use alchemy as inspiring subject matter, or use alchemical symbols in their work. While alchemy is marginal to current visual art, alchemical thinking remains central. Some lesser known artists such asBrett Whiteley,Krzysztof Gliszczynski,andThérèse Oultonopenly use alchemical symbols. On the other hand, alchemical influences in the work of renowned artists such asJackson Pollock,Marcel DuchampandSalvador Dalímay be more superficial, and not the primary importance of the work. It is more the idea of alchemy, than alchemy itself, that has influenced these artists.[5]Other examples of alchemy in modern art include:

Novels and plays[edit]

AlchemistJohann Georg Faustinspired the legend ofFaust,depicted in novels, plays, and operas.

Like alchemy in visual art, the intersection of alchemy and literature can be broken down into four categories:

  1. The alchemical texts themselves;
  2. Satirical attacks on alchemists;
  3. Stories that incorporate alchemical iconography; and
  4. Works that are structurally alchemical, known asliterary alchemy.

In the first category are the writings of alchemists. Beginning withZosimos of Panopolis(AD 300)[7]and extending through the history of alchemy, texts appear in the alchemical corpus that are more allegorical than technical. A much later example of this can be found inThe Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz(1616).

In the second category are critiques of alchemical charlatanism. Starting in the fourteenth century, somewriterslampooned alchemists and used them as the butt ofsatiricalattacks. Some early and well-known examples are:

A number of 19th-century works incorporated alchemy, including:

In twentieth and twenty-first century examples, alchemists are generally presented in a more romantic or mystic light, and often little distinction is made between alchemy,magic,and witchcraft. Alchemy has become a common theme infantasy fiction.

Literary alchemy[edit]

The term "literary alchemy" dates back to at least 1971, when Jennifer R. Walters used it as the title of her essayLiterary Alchemyin Diacritics magazine. Stanton J. Linden, in his 1996Darke Hierogliphicks; Alchemy in English Literature from Chaucer to the Restoration,applies the term both to stories which deal extensively with alchemists and the process of alchemy (of which the earliest is Chaucer'sThe Canon's Yeoman's Tale), and stories which include alchemical allegory or imagery (of which the most extensive and well-known is theChymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz).John Granger,who studies the literary alchemy inJ. K. Rowling's,Harry Potterseries explains:

If you recall your Aristotle on what happens in a proper tragedy, the audience identifies with the hero in his agony and shares in his passion. This identification and shared passion is effectively the same as the experience of the event; the audience experiences katharsis or "purification" in correspondence with the actors. Shakespeare and Jonson, among others, used alchemical imagery and themes because they understood that the work of the theater in human transformation was parallel if not identical to the work of alchemy in that same transformation. The alchemical work was claimed to be greater than an imaginative experience in the theater, but the idea of purification by identification or correspondence with an object and its transformations was the same in both.[10]

In an early example, SirThomas Maloryuses alchemy as a motif that underlies the personal, psychological, and aesthetic development of Sir Gareth of Orkney inLe Morte d'Arthur.[11]Sir Gareth's quest parallels the process of alchemy in that he first undergoes thenigredophase by defeating the black knight and wearing his armor. After this, Gareth defeats knights representing the four elements, thereby subsuming their power. In fighting and defeating the Red Knight (the overall purpose of his quest), he undergoes and passes therubedophase. Gareth, toward the end of his quest, accepts a ring from his paramour, Lyoness, which transforms his armor into multicolors. This alludes to the panchromatic philosopher's stone, and while he is in multicolored armor, he is unbeatable.

The Tempestis the most alchemically influenced of allWilliam Shakespeare's work, steeped as it is in alchemical imagery (dying Kings and sons, Ariel as the spirit Mercurius etc.) with Prospero as the archetypal Magus. The main character in the playGoodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet),byAnn-Marie MacDonald,succeeds in determining the alchemy behind Shakespeare'sOthello.[12]Literary alchemy continues to be popular in novels such asPaulo Coelho'sThe Alchemist(1988).

David Meakin, in his 1995 bookHermetic Fictions; Alchemy and Irony in the Novelis unusual in categorizing stories as alchemic even if they do not mention alchemists or alchemy, nor include alchemic allegory or imagery, so long as they include elements which obliquely remind him personally of alchemy. For instance, he considers any book about a writer alchemic, because "writing is a kind of alchemy." Captain Nemo's submarine the Nautilus is "alchemic" because it is a "hermetically closed cell" (all submarines are airtight, ergo "hermetically closed" ). The game fromHermann Hesse'sThe Glass Bead Gameis concerned with the quest for perfection of knowledge, therefore Meakin considers it "an intellectual alchemy." The list of authors who do not mention alchemy or alchemists, nor use alchemical allegory or imagery, but who use ideas which obliquely remind Meakin of alchemy includeCharles Williams,[13]William Godwin,Percy Bysshe Shelley,Émile Zola,Jules Verne,Marcel Proust,Thomas Mann,Hermann Hesse,James Joyce,Gustav Meyrink,Lindsay Clarke,Marguerite Yourcenar,Umberto Eco,Michel Butor,Amanda Quick,Gabriel García MarquezandMária Szepes.[14]

Music[edit]

Some Renaissance alchemists expressed their ideas through music. A similar trend continues today as some musicians express themselves using alchemy.

Heinrich Khunrath'sAmphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternaecontains illustrations of musical instruments alongside the text, "Sacred music disperses sadness and malignant spirits", suggesting that music may have played a role in alchemical practice. The strongest example of music within alchemy can be found in the seventeenth century work ofMichael Maier.HisAtalanta Fugiensincluded fiftyfugues.The fugues were arranged in three voices symbolizing thephilosopher's stone,the pursuing adept, and obstacles in his way.[15]These have also been interpreted as corresponding to the alchemicaltria prima."It is the first alchemicalGesamtkunstwerkthat comprises music, images, poetry, and prose together in one piece. As is stressed on the frontispiece of the book, all the senses are involved in contact with this treatise:partim oculis et inteflectui... partim auribus et recreationi... videnda, legenda, meditanda, intelligenda, dijudicanda, canenda et audienda.In this respect,Atalantais a book that requires a rather contemplative exercise ".[16]The text of Maier'sCantilenae Intelectuales de Phoenice Redivivois organized similarly, in three musical voices. Maier writes:

All things in this Universe, all forms, heavenly or earthly, being created inNUMBER, WEIGHT, & MEASURE,there is, between them, an exact and marvellous proportion of parts, strengths, qualities, quantities and effects, such that, together they seem to resemble an extraordinarily harmoniousMusic, and there is between spiritual beings, amongst which is to be numbered theMind, or intellect in man, a similar musical concord. [...] ‘Tis the same too for the hidden subject of the Hermetic Philosophers: a sort of philosophical micro-world, naturally divided into three ordered parts, bass, tenor and soprano, just as the hammers heard byPythagoras in the smithyplayed a pleasant harmony by reason of their various and proportional weights.[17]

Alchemy continues to influence musicians. In more recent times, concept albums have been created around alchemical motifs. Alchemy can be incorporated into song or album structure, cover art, and lyrics. Some examples include:

Film, television, and webisode[edit]

Literary alchemy has been extended to film and television. The alchemical quest is plainly visible to the audience in movies such asThe Holy Mountain(1973)[18]andMilton's Secret(2016).The Vanishing(1988) is a less conspicuous example. Based onThe Golden Egg,this film features direct alchemical devices such as the appearance of theMutus Liber.More significantly, the plot can be seen alchemically, as the villain completes a twisted interpretation of the alchemical great work. In the American remake ofThe Vanishing(1993), the alchemical elements were stripped.[19]

Alchemical influence may also be seen in film adaptations of myths and legends. Evidence of an alchemical interpretation ofJasonand theGolden Fleececan be found as early as the writings ofJohn of Antioch(seventh century).[20]The alchemical ties to this (and other) myths continued through to Renaissance alchemists, notably in the fifteenth century alchemical bookAureum vellus(Golden Fleece) attributed toSolomon Trismosin.Newer incarnations of these stories likeJason and the Argonauts (1963 film)have the capacity to carry forward alchemical allegory on film. Movies like theHarry Potter film seriesserve the same function for more recent fiction.

Like other twentieth century forms of entertainment, movies and shows featuring alchemy often include elements of magic and fantasy. Sometimes this extends tomagic realismas is inParash Pathar(1958), andHudson Hawk(1991). This same sort of portrayal can be found inscience fantasymovies like9(2009), or infantasy filmslikeThe Dark Crystal(1982). 2014's horror fantasy filmAs Above, So Belowalso featured these concepts.

Experimental film[edit]

  • The experimental filmmakerJames Whitneyplanned a series of four alchemical films in the mid-1970s. Of these only one was made, calledDwija(1976),[21]described by William Wees as "an alchemical vessel dissolving and materialising again and again within a pulsating stream of coloured light."[22]
  • Jordan Belson[21]andHarry Everett Smith[23]also referenced alchemical ideas and imagery in their experimental films.
  • The German experimental filmmaker Jürgen Reble has referenced alchemical processes in his physical and chemical manipulation of the filmstrip, describing one particular work,Alchemy,as bridging the gap between the "processing and fixing" of the film.[24]
  • In 2010 the moving image artistRichard Ashrowancreated a video installation,Alchemist,which used texts by the twelfth century alchemistMichael Scotand included performances related to alchemical themes.

Graphic novel and animation[edit]

Alchemy and alchemical concepts appear in comics, as well as Japanese manga and anime in a fashion consistent with twentieth century fantasy fiction. A few examples that feature alchemy heavily are:

Video games[edit]

Alchemy is an element in numerous fantasy genre games. Characters can be portrayed or played as alchemists. Transmutation,spagyricpotion making,homunculi,and alchemically created items may be incorporated into the gameplay. Games which include alchemical concepts include:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Jacob Wamberg.Art & AlchemyMuseum Tusculanum Press, 2006. p.13
  2. ^Barbara Obrist.Visualization in Medieval AlchemyHYLE – International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, Vol. 9, No.2 (2003), pp. 131-170
  3. ^Stanislas Klossowski de Rola. ‘’The Golden Game. Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century.’‘ Thames and Hudson. 1988. p.13-15.
  4. ^Philip Ball.Bright Earth: Art and the Invention of Color.University of Chicago Press, 2003. p.80-82
  5. ^James Elkins."Four Ways of Measuring the Distance Between Alchemy and Contemporary Art"HYLE –International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry,Vol. 9, No.1 (2003), pp. 105-118.
  6. ^See M.E. Warlick.Max Ernst and Alchemy
  7. ^Clare Goodrick-Clarke.Alchemical Medicine for the 21st Century: Spagyrics for Detox, Healing, and Longevity.2010. p.16
  8. ^see Alice Raphael: Goethe and the Philosopher's Stone, symbolical patterns in 'The Parable' and the second part of 'Faust', London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1965.
  9. ^Clara Neary (2023) “[E]verything that is to be Made Whole Must First be Broken”: Religion, Metaphor and Narrative Alchemy in Hilary Mantel's Fludd (1989), English Studies, DOI: 10.1080/0013838X.2023.2233310
  10. ^John Granger (25 November 2001)."Touchstone Archives: The Alchemist's Tale".Touchstonemag.com.Retrieved16 February2012.
  11. ^Bonnie Wheeler, ‘ "The Prowess of Hands": The Psychology of Alchemy in Malory's "Tale of Sir Gareth," ’ in Culture and the King: The Social Implications of the Arthurian Legend, ed. Martin B. Shichtman and James P. Carley (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), pp. 180–95.
  12. ^Szönyi, György E. (2012-12-01).""Contending with the Fretful Element": Shakespeare and the (Gendered) Great Chain of Being ".Gender Studies(in German).11(1): 1–22.doi:10.2478/v10320-012-0025-6.
  13. ^Roukema, Aren (2018-01-01).The Transmutation of Charles Williams: Spiritual and Literary Alchemy.Brill.ISBN978-90-04-36911-5.
  14. ^David Meakin.Hermetic Fictions: Alchemy and Irony in the Novel.Keele University Press, 1995.
  15. ^John Read.From Alchemy to Chemistry.Courier Dover Publications, 1957. p.72-73.
  16. ^"Alkimia operativa and alkimia speculativa. Some Modern Controversies on the Historiography of Alchemy".scholar.google.com.
  17. ^Mike Dickman.Intellectual Cantilenae in Nine Triads upon the Resurrection of the Phoenix by Michael Maier.p.35-36. Glasgow. 1992. ASIN: B001ACAK7U
  18. ^Cobb, Ben (August 17, 2007).Anarchy and alchemy: the films of Alejandro Jodorowsky.Creation Books. p. 125.ISBN978-1-84068-145-1.
  19. ^Karen Pinkus.Alchemical Mercury: A Theory of Ambivalence.Stanford University Press, 2009. p.66-68
  20. ^Maurice P. Crosland.Historical Studies in the Language of Chemistry.Courier Dover Publications, 2004. p.8
  21. ^abMoritz, William. "Non-Objective Film: The Second Generation", 1979
  22. ^Wees, William. "Light Moving in Time". University of California Press, 1992
  23. ^Sexton, Jamie. "Alchemical Transformations: The Abstract Films of Harry Smith". Senses of Cinema, 2005
  24. ^Reble, Jurgen. "Chemistry and the Alchemy of Colour". Millennium Film Journal, 1997
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