Product Description

From antiquity to the Enlightenment, astrology, magic, and alchemy have always been considered important tools in unravelling the mysteries of nature and human destiny. As a result of the West's exposure to the astrological beliefs of Arab philosophers and the mystical writings of late antiquity, these occult traditions became rich sources of inspiration for Western artists.This latest volume in the "Guide to Imagery" series, presents an intelligent analysis of occult iconography in many of the great masterpieces of Western art - from the astrological symbols that decorated churches and illuminated manuscripts, through the work of a wide range of Renaissance artists, including Bosch, Brueghel, Durer and Caravaggio, to the visionary works of nineteenth-century artists, such as Fuseli and Blake, as well as in the creative output of the Surrealists during the twentieth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #409308 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author
Matilde Battistini is a noted art critic and author.

Customer Reviews

Learn alchemy through art
At first glance, this appears to be what it says on the cover: a lavishly illustrated, entertaining and informative guide to astrology, magic and alchemy in art, delivered in bite-sized chunks. Start reading, however, and the depth of the information given with each page - always in very few words - is astounding. Suddenly the book inverts, and instead of learning about how art has been used to describe alchemy, you are learning astronomy and alchemy - through art. (For a similar process on the topic of angels, try Margaret Barker's magnificent An Extraordinary Gathering of Angels).

The works chosen are not just the big names described in the publisher's blurb above, but many many others, and the pictures themselves are chosen from sources even the keen reader would be hard pushed to tour - the ceilings of palazzos all across Italy, and rare books locked away in museums. Only Western art is covered - it would be fascinating to read a similar book covering India and China (where these topics remained mainstream until very recently) but written from the same perspective.

Who is the author, Matilde Battistini? This book was first published in Italy in 2004 before being published in English in 2007 by the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles as part of the series A Guide to Imagery. Astonishing - if this is anything to go by, the whole series must be sensational.