Alexander Roob, Alchemy and Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum. Koln, Germany: Taschen, 2023. ISBN: 97803836549363.
This volume is part of Taschen's Bibliotheca Universalis series. The book is a collection of art dealing in magic, alchemy, mysticism, and other esoterica from the Middle Ages to the Romantic era. The book is arranged in five major parts:
- Introduction.
- Macrocosm.
- Opus Magnum.
- Microcosm.
- Rotation.
After the introduction, each section has thematic subsections. The book includes a small select bibliography at the end on the Hermetic art of illustration. The bibliography lists 12 works.
The strength of the book is in the art. The illustrations are very good and at times visually stunning. This is more a book to read and browse. I read it through in part out of curiosity and to learn, plus to write this review. The art does have informative captions. Some of the text can be a bit dense at times. The book is not exactly light reading, but if the topic interests you it is worth reading. Note that the text is more thematic rather than sequential narrative.
Taschen always puts out beautiful books, and this one is a good example. At 573 pages you get a lot of value overall and plenty of art. The book measures about 8 inches by 6 inches. The art is on the small side, so it may not be easy to appreciate all of the details. I imagine a larger coffee table sized book would be huge. At this size, the book is a good size for your book shelf and to carry.
If you are interested in esoterica, history, and/or art, this can be a book for you. Hermetic practitioners may want to have it in their collections. This is a book I'd recommend for public and academic libraries, especially libraries with strong art collections.
Overall, I really like this one even if it is not always an easy read.
4 out of 5 stars.
Book qualifies for the following 2025 Reading Challenge:
No comments:
Post a Comment