Exhibition 'Open Book A journey of discovery through the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Collection' in Embassy of the Free Mind
Open Book
A journey of discovery through the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Collection
The core collection of the library in the Embassy of the Free Mind, the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, consists of c. 2300 books and 300 manuscripts from the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the period from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment. When we think of the Renaissance, we often think of the rediscovery of classical Antiquity, while we generally associate the Enlightenment with rational thought. Beyond these strict parameters, however, there was also a lot going on.
Our core collection throws a unique light on a vibrant spiritual tradition that continued to flourish in this period. Hermetic philosophy, gnosis, mysticism, alchemy, kabbalah, Rosicrucians – these are only a few of the currents that are part of this tradition. They provided a rich breeding ground for independent reflections on life questions. A central issue in all of these currents is the research into nature, the cosmos and man, based on the conviction that we people are intrinsically connected with the world around us.
The team of the Embassy of the Free Mind, staff and volunteers, including students of the Chair of the History of Hermetic Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, present books from the collection to (re)acquaint you with the versatility and richness of this tradition in the regularly changing collection display Open Book. Why? Many of these currents have faded into oblivion, partly because their philosophy conflicted with the ecclesiastical and secular powers so much that some authors have had to pay with their lives. Partly also because the scientific culture as it was developing distanced itself from what was regarded as ‘superstition’. Nevertheless, these books are still able to offer inspiration and can make us look at the world – and ourselves – with different eyes.
This edition of Open Book features rare, often beautifully illustrated books on the following topics:
* Jewish mysticism in the work of the humanist Johannes Reuchlin
* the harmony of the spheres in the works of Robert Fludd and Johannes Kepler
* the mystic Jacob Böhme
* Anabaptists in the Netherlands
* the alchemist Heinrich Khunrath
* the alchemist Michael Maier and his multimedia book Atalanta fugiens
* the Amsterdam freethinker Dirck Volkertsz Coornhert
* the visionary artist and poet William Blake
