Alchemy, a subject that has long been shrouded in secrecy, was a mysterious mix of science and spirituality. Today, alchemy is regarded as the ancestor of modern chemistry, but throughout history, the practice of alchemy was considered an art. In medieval Europe, it was known as The Great Art. Over time, alchemy greatly influenced the shifting interpretations of the relationship among art, science, and natural philosophy. Drawing primarily from the collections of the Getty Research Institute and the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Art of Alchemy will display the critical impact of this arcane subject on artistic practice and expression from Greco-Egyptian antiquity to medieval Central Asia, and from the Islamic world to Europe during the Enlightenment and beyond.
In the news
A Diego Rivera mural is the San Francisco Art Institute’s prize asset – but that doesn’t mean it should be sold
The work is central to the identity of the cash-strapped school
Keeping time – the Tunisian clock monuments that tell of a bygone regime
A decade after the uprisings that led to the downfall of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the clocks he loved remain
Most popular
- google_a
- Recent
- google_a
- Recent
Podcast
The Apollo 40 under 40 podcast: Mohamad Hafez
The Syrian-born, US-based artist talks to Gabrielle Schwarz about his sculptural dioramas of cities ravaged by war – and offers a message of hope for the future
The invasion of the Capitol fulfilled a warning from history – and will haunt us for years to come