Imagining alchemy: visual and figurative representations in premodern sciences

Abstract Images are ubiquitous in the alchemical arts. From diagrams of laboratory equipment, through fantastical images of mythical beasts, to elaborate metaphorical descriptors, images flourished in chymical environs. Such images were more than merely decorative; they offered vital clues which could be used to decode complex and often deliberately obscure treatises, revealing the signs – or tokens – that an alchemist should expect to encounter if their work proceeded successfully. Following recent calls to view the term ‘image’ in its broadest sense, this introduction argues that we must consider both visual and textual imagery in alchemical contexts, as images conjured with pigments and with words alike were essential means of understanding alchemical theories and ideas. It is argued that it is vital that the scope of ‘the image’ is extended to also include linguistic imagery formed through allegory and metaphor, as these were as vital a part of the broader corpus of alchemical imagery as its pictorial counterparts.