William Henry Perkin depicted in his laboratory. Perkin, center, examines test dyeing of silk taffeta with mauve aniline dye. Left, his father, the backer of the plant, stands behind Perkin and admires the fabric. In…

An alchemist wearing a green robe uses a pair of bellows to control the heat of the fire beneath his crucible. Other vessels sit on the furnace at his side, and to his left a large still-head for distillation rests over…

The alchemist sits, stirring the contents of a crucible, as he carefully watches the progress of a distillation experiment. He is surrounded by alchemical apparatus, glassware, and open books. An hourglass at his side…

Facing a glowing furnace at left, a bearded alchemist in green with red cap looks at flask of green liquid with young assistant in red singlet; laboratory apparatus in foreground and background; a pufferfish hangs from…

Portrait of Reinhart Geiger standing, facing left; dressed in cap, blue coat, and gloves; holding oil can; locomotive in background; train tracks in lower right.

Gilded frame with label: "REINHART GEIGER / LOCOMOTIVE…

Standing portrait of George Trapp, a blue-collar worker, looking left; dressed in work clothes including a cap, white shirt, vest, and smock; holding the neck of a green glass carboy in left hand; to left, crates used…

When Chester Fisher commissioned this copy of a painting by David Ryckaert III (1612-1661), in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, it was long assumed that the painting depicted the famous Nicolas…

Portrait of Paul Erhlich, recipient of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his contributions to immunology. Ehrlich was a German Jewish physician and scientist who worked in the fields of hematology,…

A physician wearing the traditional physician's cap conducts a urinoscopy on the flask he holds. A woman is seated beside him, waiting for the results. In the foreground the alchemist's assistant is tending to a furnace…

A bearded man reading a book is standing in a great vaulted interior. A large window illuminates the room with warm daylight, reflecting against the glassware sparsely placed on upper shelves. At right, a long-necked…

A bearded alchemist wearing a fur-trimmed top coat and cap is carefully weighing ingredients with a balance. On top of his table is an exotic carpet covered with papers, a copper pitcher, and ceramic jar. Resting on a…

An alchemist takes the pulse of an elegant female patient, inside a cavernous chamber decorated with fine paintings and luxurious furnishings. Above the mantle hangs a painted hunting scene which resembles the work of…

In a stone chamber, an alchemist holds aloft a small vial to examine it against a beam of light from above. Plainly dressed in a brown robe, he stands before a table stacked with glassware, scales, and an open book. On…

In a small workshop a medical alchemist tends to the foot of a seated patient while the man's wife and child look on. At left, an assistant grinds a substance--likely a medicine or salve--in a small mortar and pestle.…

A man in red skull cap and coat furred at collar and cuff sits with open book on his lap, body facing left with head turned right, in a green tattered velvet chair. At right, a cloth-covered table topped with a skull.…

This painting depicts a bustling and prosperous workshop showing a range of alchemical activities, from metallurgical work--such as the heating of a small crucible at lower left--to medical practices, demonstrated by…

This lively and richly decorated chamber presents an alchemist's workshop which is busy, productive, and filled with customers and assistants. At center, the alchemist himself--dressed in a fine satin coat with slash…

In the apothecary's workshop a man pours liquid from a jar into blue earthenware vessels. He is surrounded by copper bowls, jars, and sacks of endive and other herbs and vegetables likely used for medical preparations…

The labors of an elderly alchemist are closely watched by a monkey which perches on the window above. The alchemist busies himself investigating samples wrapped in paper or notes in a cluttered workshop. The floor at…

Seated in a disorderly and rustic workshop, an alchemist examines a flask while scratching his head, deep in thought. Scattered about the floor are books, vessels, and a dog which has curled up in a pile of straw. More…

A bearded alchemist sits in the midst of a bustling workshop, tending a small brazier of coals with a hand-bellows. Objects for metalworking- including an anvil, crucible, furnace and hammer- are joined by vessels for…

A bearded, seated alchemist, wearing glasses and bright red shirt, bends over an open book on a desk stacked high with a mess of papers and glassware. The trail of books continues to the ground with broken and unbroken…

In a large stone chamber, a young woman in a blue skirt leans close to study a flask held by an elderly, bearded iatrochemist. He rests against a table covered with an embroidered carpet, topped with other glass vessels…

A bald-headed alchemist peers through his spectacles at the heated crucible which his assistant holds up. A second crucible and a larger experiment sit on the fire at left. On the floor sits a hand-bellows, as well as…

An alchemist smokes a small clay pipe as he works, stirring a substance in an earthenware jar. His assistant kneels beside the hearth at right, tending the coals of a fire beneath a distillation apparatus. Copper…