The alchemist is one of the key Jungian archetypes to consider when trying to form a complete understanding of the artist. The universal path of the alchemist is that of self-discovery and transformation - both of which of course are necessarily correlated.

In culture, an alchemist seeks to transform base metals into gold. In Jungian philosophy, this symbolises the transformation of the incomplete or impure unconsciousness into a state of wholeness, or in other words, enlightenment (c.f. individuation). The physical acts of the alchemist transmuting fragments of dirt to gold is a metaphor for the individual's journey of discovery. This journey necessitates the loss of the old self in order to give place to the new.

More specifically, for this train of thought, the desire to transform base matter into a higher form reflects closely the pursuit of genuine art. It would be incorrect to describe the creative process of a painter by the arrangement of coloured dirt on a canvas. This would suggest a final product as only the intentionally arranged display of pigments within an arbitrary shape. The true process of the artist and creator is to infuse this arrangement of pigments with a new character, a new metaphysical form, creating something that is not contained within the pigments themselves; but something that forms a communicative bridge between the unconscious, the unknown, the sea of potential and the viewer. A two way door, if you will.

When you look at Rembrandt’s “An Old Woman Reading” do you see brown pigment juxtaposed with white pigment softened with yellow pigment - what is physically there? Or, do you see properly? What is truly there? And, can it see you? Musically, to paraphrase Sir Roger Scruton’s lyric demonstration of cognitive dualism ¹, when listening to the opening theme of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, what do you truly hear? A series of sounds, identified with a specific frequency pitched one after the other? Or, do you hear the melody? What exactly even is the melody? We hear it move upwards along the C-minor arpeggio, and then downwards, stepwise, brought to a standstill by two dominant-tonic commas, as though a question has been asked and an open palm presented to the other. Then, we hear the answer; rising up to the A-flat but not satisfying the original question until it settles, once again, with a pair of commas ending in the key of G. Here, Beethoven the artist, has taken the base metal (sounds with frequencies based around 261.63, 311.13, and 392.00 Hz) and performed transmutation, bringing into being a musical conversation and information that before he did so, did not exist. Beethoven’s art here transcends the base materials out of which it is forged.

Uncertainty

When embarking on the alchemical journey, the alchemist is not to know a priori if the transmutation will be successful. Similarly, the artistic pursuit, by the very definition of calling into being something that as of yet does not exist in the physical world, is imbued with the same risk of uncertainty. The new and genuinely original may not be known in this world until it is realised. Where it does exist, prior to the artistic process, does not assure a safe passage from its depths into the world of the known. It is up to the artist to surmount this risk, embark on this journey and call the non-existent into existence. This navigation of uncertainty is what is invariably present in the actions of all great creators.

There is no assurance that once the realm of the unconscious has been entered, the traveller will return. This is what makes the journey of the alchemist one of true courage. The alchemist may therefore be considered as one of the archetypal ancestors to the artist.

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References

¹ Roger Scruton, The Soul of the World, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press (2014)