Art of Alchemy

¿Among all the arts, it is the art of alchemy which most closely imitates nature.¿ - Albertus Magnus (teacher of St. Thomas Aquinas), ca.1250

Alchemists are notorious for attempting to synthesise gold. Their goals, however, were far more ambitious: to transform and bend nature to the will of an industrious human imagination. For scientists, philosophers, and artists alike, alchemy seemed to hold the key to unlocking the secrets of creation. Alchemists'' efforts to discover the way the world is made have had an enduring impact on global artistic practice and expression. Concoctions produced in the world¿s alchemy labs include inks, dyes, and oil paints; cements and ceramic glazing; dazzling effects in metalwork and glass - and the modern media which now claim boasting rights as the ultimate chemical mirrors of nature: photography and the liquid crystal displays of the digital world. Alchemy may well be the most important human invention after the harnessing of fire. It