The Alchemy of Light : Geometry and Optics in Late Renaissance Alchemical Illustration
The Alchemy of Light : Geometry and Optics in Late Renaissance Alchemical Illustration
Click to enlarge
Author(s): Szulakowska, Urszula
ISBN No.: 9789004116900
Pages: XXIV, 248
Year: 200006
Format: Trade Cloth (Hard Cover)
Price: $ 318.78
Dispatch delay: Dispatched between 7 to 15 days
Status: Available

This study concerns the late Renaissance metaphysics of light in its adoption to a Paracelsian alchemical context by John Dee, Heinrich Khunrath, Michael Maier and Robert Fludd. Their alchemical theosophy is contextualised within Protestant reformism of the 1590s to 1620s, specifically that of Valentin Weigel and Johannes Arndt. This results in a re-assessment of the Rosicrucian movement which challenges the existing historiography and problematises the character of the movement. The volume includes fifty illustrations from alchemical treatises of the period, the emphasis being placed on Khunrath's "Amphiteatrum Sapientiae Aeternae (1595-1609). In an innovative manner, the study investigates these images using analytical tools drawn from semiotics, structuralism and post-structuralism. This method yields an unusual interpretation of the geometry, optical diagrams and spatial structures employed in such alchemical engravings.


To be able to view the table of contents for this publication then please subscribe by clicking the button below...
To be able to view the full description for this publication then please subscribe by clicking the button below...