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The Alchemy of Light

Geometry and Optics in Late Renaissance Alchemical Illustration. Symbola et Emblemata 10

By (author) Urszula Szulakowska
Format: Hardback
Publisher: Brill, Leiden, Netherlands
Published: 16th Jun 2000
Dimensions: w 160mm h 254mm d 16mm
Weight: 705g
ISBN-10: 9004116907
ISBN-13: 9789004116900
Barcode No: 9789004116900
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Synopsis
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.

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