Alchemy & Mysticism (Klotz)

by Alexander Roob

Paperback, 2003

Status

Available

Call number

709

Publication

TASCHEN (2003), 711 pages

Description

The Hermetic Museum takes readers on a magical mystery tour spanning an arc from the medieval cosmogram and images of Christian mysticism, through the fascinating world of alchemy to the art of the Romantic era. The enigmatic hieroglyphs of cabalists, Rosicrucians, and freemasons are shown to be closely linked with the early scientific illustrations in the fields of medicine, chemistry, optics, and color theory. Even for those with no knowledge of the fascinating history of alchemy, this book is a delight to explore. Each richly illustrated chapter begins with an introduction and quotes from alchemists by specialist Alexander Roob. The roots of surrealism and many other more recent artistic movements can be found in this treasure trove.

User reviews

LibraryThing member gregfromgilbert
This 700 page book contains around a 1000 woodcuts, prints and paintings relating to alchemy along with brief descriptions. A joy just to thumb through.
LibraryThing member tuckerresearch
Wonderful and hard-to-find illustrations from the Middle Ages till today about the Great Work. Sparse but intelligent captions allow you to make your own conclusions and connections.
LibraryThing member talltrickster
Awesome drawings; a wonderful resource. The text is a bit difficult at times to grasp, as are many of the illustrations, but this book was enormously helpful to me during the research phase of writing my book. If you are interested in the history of alchemy, I highly recommend this book
LibraryThing member hearthfirecircle
confusing text, but beautiful illustrations.
LibraryThing member Sippara
Suprise, this inexpensive and easy to find book contains a cornacopia of alchemical and mystical diagrams from obscure texts. The author respects the material and only gives teases to their decipherment. For the money this is a darn good little book.
LibraryThing member JonathanGorman
There's a larger version of this book I remember reading, but this particularly volume trades off some detail in the individual drawing for a far more portable and convenient size. Lots of beautiful imagery and a little bit of history as well.
LibraryThing member Di_M
Beautiful illustrations and is a very interesting book. However, it's confusing to read.
LibraryThing member spotter13
Very detailed account of the ideas and meanings surrounding alchemy and mysticism from the Hermetic Museum. This book gives detailed history of the iconography used in alchemy and mysticism and their relation to the history and science.
LibraryThing member AnTiArT
This book is heavy! It is a valuable resource book for everyone interested in medieval graphic, art, symbols. But those who look for a simple introduction to alchemy and mysticism should search somewhere else: The texts and excerpts are a bit confusing and not very structured. But still
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entertaining.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1997-05-01

Physical description

711 p.; 5.88 inches

ISBN

3822815144 / 9783822815144
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