Alchemy & Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum (25th) [Paperback]

Alexander Roob (Author)

Book Description

Series: 25th | Publication Date: August 2, 2006

A fantastic journey through the history of esoteric lore: the great work of the alchemists (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary - Special edition) The Hermetic Museum takes its readers on a magical mystery tour spanning an arc from the mediaeval cosmogram and images of Christian mysticism, through the fascinating world of alchemy to the art of the Romantic era. The enigmatic hieroglyphs of cabbalists, Rosicrucians and freemasons are shown to be closely linked with the early scientific illustrations in the fields of medicine, chemistry, optics and colour theory. The author: Alexander Roob studied painting at the University of Fine Arts, Berlin. From 2000 to 2002, he was a professor at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. He has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart since 2002.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"More bang for your buck!"... a fast-food, high-energy fix on the topic at hand." The New York Times Book Review" --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Alexander Roob studied painting at the University of Fine Arts, Berlin. From 2000 to 2002, he was a professor at the University of Fine Arts, Hamburg. He has been teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart since 2002.

Product Details

• Paperback: 575 pages
• Publisher: Taschen; 25th edition (August 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822850381
• ISBN-13: 978-3822850381
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.6 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #21 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Medieval
  • #27 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Ancient & Classical

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking Beauty, May 28, 2003

By 

Amanda Chesworth (New Mexico, US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Alchemy & Mysticism (Klotz) (Paperback)

This is an extraordinary collection of art - comprehensive and diverse, spanning a significant portion of human history. Brief descriptions and explanatory text are sprinkled about but the greatest pleasure, in my opinion, derives from the gorgeous reproductions of art related to alchemy and mysticism.

I actually own two copies of this book. One that I peruse regularly and another that I shall keep as a spare should my first wear out. It is an excellent gift - very uplifting and immensely inspiring.

The subject of alchemy has been somewhat cheapened in our time - reduced to a few basic - often misrepresented - ideas and thrown about by simple minds with incoherent ideas. Few people have encountered the breadth of the subject and the contributions it has made to human civilizations. The inspiration it has provided artists and scientists is immense and this book captures quite a bit of this significance.

The author neither advocates existing belief in alchemy and mysticism, nor denies it. It is a historical perspective - largely relayed through imagery - celebrating the great beauty of the subject and the complexities it once contained.

77 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Short version of the original book, August 13, 2005

By 

Dragan (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alchemy & Mysticism (Icons) (Paperback)

Why do I give this book only 2 stars? I don't agree with the way this book is marketed. Watch out for ordering this book, as there are two books of the same title, author and publisher. What's the difference? One of the books has the word 'icons' on it and has only 192 pages from the original book. The original book has 712 pages. Check that the ISBN's match for what you are after. I made the mistake of buying this book from a site that did not list the page numbers and went off the title, publisher, author and picture on the front cover. Since first writing this review, I have now returned to say that I have the original 712 paged book and am very happy with it. When it comes to a book like this, why settle for second best?

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer..., December 7, 2004

By 

Myron Makewater "redcrosseknight" (Laramie) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alchemy & Mysticism (Klotz) (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book, a detailed historical examination of the alchemy trope and its major themes. The emphasis is on the visual arts (great selections here), but literature, philosophy, and comparative religion also get a good shake. I would have liked a more detailed analysis of music and dance, but the book is already huge.

The pictures are well-chosen and well-reproduced, and tell a fascinating story of an ideas percolation across Europe, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. The text is also quite a prize; one example of surprising insight: Roob observes that Joyce drew a parallel between Blake's four Zoas and the Gunas of classical Indian thought, while demonstrating through Indian images and Blake's illustrations how Joyce could connect the dots. There's plenty of Blake here and a good squirt of Gurdjieff, too.

A thought on the relationship between alchemy and mysticism to get you going: "It is not a question of 'getting there' or 'being there'; the Tantric tradition speaks of being here. It speaks of transmutation and the analogy of alchemistic practice is used a great deal. For exxample, the existence of lead is not rejected but lead is transmuted into gold. You do not have to change its metallic quality at all; you must simply transmute it" (Chogyam Trungpa, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, p.219).