Getty Museum Explores the Curious Blend of Science and Spirituality Known as Alchemy

ARTDAILY

Mercury ca. 1570–1580 Johann Gregor van der Schardt (Netherlandish, ca. 1530–after 1581) Bronze Lent by the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 95.SB.8.

CALIFORNIA---Long shrouded in secrecy, alchemy was once considered the highest of arts. Straddling art, science, and natural philosophy, alchemy has proven key to both the materiality and creative expression embedded in artistic output, from ancient sculpture and the decorative arts to medieval illumination, and masterpieces in paint, print, and a panoply of media from the European Renaissance to the present day. Drawing primarily from the collections of the Getty Research Institute as well as the J. Paul Getty Museum, the exhibition The Art of Alchemy examines the impact of alchemy around the world on artistic practice and its expression in visual culture from antiquity to the present. [link]


J. Paul Getty Museum: "The Art of Alchemy" (October 11, 2016–February 12, 2017); 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA; (310) 440-7300; getty.edu