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Watercolour and Photoshop™
©2014 Charlene Brown
Alchemy was a medieval chemical science or
speculative philosophy that aimed to achieve perfection. Its specific goals
included the transformation of base metals into gold or at least silver, and
the discovery of a universal cure for disease.
It evolved as an art - not as
a science. Processes developed by alchemists never succeeded in producing gold
or even silver, but they did produce building materials such as plaster and
mortar, tar and asphalt, fuels for heat and light, artificial gems, medicines,
soaps, cosmetics, beer and wine. Many alchemical
processes were discovered by accident, but once mastered, were passed on by an
apprenticeship system.
The words ‘alchemy’ and ‘chemistry’ were used
interchangeably during most of the 17th century. During the Enlightenment,
however, a distinction was drawn because of the rise of modern science with its
emphasis on rigorous quantitative experimentation and disdain for ancient
wisdom… and the increasing disrepute of alchemists, who claimed through
trickery, to achieve perfection – the ultimate goal of alchemy.
Using Photoshop, I have overlaid the sky with some popular alchemy
symbols for metals, processes and measures – pounds, ounces and my personal favourite,
the scruple.
