The Alchemical Laboratory in Visual and Written Sources

Alchemy was an experimental laboratory activity that involved numerous disciplines. It was practised over time and among various strata of society, ranging from artisans and burghers, physicians and clergy, to nobility and rulers. It was part of the natural sciences, but also included medicine, religion and the fine arts, which is why the study of its history requires an interdisciplinary approach. This book analyses images of alchemical laboratories, and their textual sources, as they appeared in manuscripts and printed alchemical treatises, especially during the Early Modern Period. Our study also integrates illustrations from treatises on mining and metallurgy, and seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish genre painting. In terms of methodology, our analysis works within the wider context of contemporary depictions of scientific subjects and technology. Based on a representative sample of sources, we reconstruct the basic laboratory equipment and show how the vessels and apparatus were related to particular processes. We also describe the development of depicting laboratory equipment with respect to its significance for the history of art and of technology. The final part of the book is devoted to depictions of alchemists at work, from both alchemical sources and genre painting.