Alchemy, a mystical and even esoteric discipline, has its roots in Antiquity, at the crossroads of Egyptian, Greek and Mesopotamian knowledge. Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary figure associated with the Egyptian god Thoth, is often considered the founding father of alchemy. His writings, collected under the name "Corpus Hermeticum", contain the famous Emerald Tablet, which inspired alchemists for centuries: "As above, so below."

Alchemy has been around for centuries and developed in the Middle Ages, notably with Paracelsus, a 16th-century Swiss physician and alchemist, who revolutionized the practice by linking alchemy to medicine. According to him, alchemy should be used to heal the body as much as to transform metals.

The Renaissance saw the height of alchemy with figures such as Nicolas Flamel, the French alchemist famous for his quest for the Philosopher's Stone, and Isaac Newton, the famous physicist who devoted much of his life to alchemy, seeking to understand the divine laws of the universe through the Great Work.

Finally, in the 20th century, Fulcanelli, an anonymous alchemist and author of "The Mystery of the Cathedrals", perpetuated the hermetic tradition. He symbolized the culmination of a centuries-old quest for hidden knowledge, mixing Gothic art and alchemy in his works.