Controlling nature through art: alchemy and natural magic

Historians' neglect of alchemy has deep historical roots. Even during its heyday from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, alchemy suffered perhaps more disparagement and suspicion than most arts and science. In the latter seventeenth century, a whole genre of painting emerged, led by figures like David Teniers the Younger‎ (1610–1690) and Mattheus van Helmont (1623–after 1685), devoted to alchemists in their laboratories. Many of these images were highly critical, but at closer inspection some appear less so. A survey of some of the themes of this genre helps explore some of the grounds for contemporary ambivalence regarding the art.