This scene depicts tools and materials used both in alchemy and in art—most notably the large écorché figure placed on the alchemist's table, which was used by artists and students of human anatomy. A human skull,…

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…

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…

A dark study illuminated by single leaded glass window at left; in middle ground a seated man behind cluttered desk faces slightly left; open and closed books, papers, jars and jugs scattered on floor; at right a seated…

The alchemist's experiment has erupted in a sudden fire, with glass shattering in midair and smoke billowing upward. The alchemist is seated awkwardly in his chair with a startled expression on his face, having turned…

An alchemist in a heavy, fur-trimmed robe and a sober scholar's cap peers closely at a glass flask in the light of an open window. Through his spectacles he examines the liquid contents. On the table at his elbow, a…

A bald alchemist stands at his furnace on the right, stirring the contents of his crucible while reading a small book. His young apprentice stands by, attentively looking to the alchemist for guidance. Books and other…

A bearded, elderly alchemist in a fur-trimmed coat leans close over a tabletop experiment. The equipment on his lab bench includes an adjustable clamp stand and an alcohol burner, contemporary to the 1800s. Small vials…

A bearded alchemist squints closely at his experiment as he tends a small fire with a pair of hand-bellows. Beside him, his young assistant looks on. This busy and productive workroom also houses a pair of assistants…

This print, engraved by Thomas Major and dedicated to his patron, the royal physician Richard Mead, reproduces a painting by David Teniers II. This copy of the print has been hand-colored. An elderly, finely-dressed…

This small painting on metal is a copy of Gerrit Dou's (also known as Gerrit Douw or Dow) [artist unknown] popular dentist scene in Dresden. Through the illusionistic frame of a large window, we see a dentist in a red…

This mezzotint by William Pether, after the 1771 painting by Joseph Wright of Derby, shows a kneeling alchemist in his laboratory, gazing in wonder at the results of his latest experiment. The painting's full original…

This engraving, by John Boydell, reproduces a lively scene of alchemists at work, after the painting "The Village Alchemist" by Jan Steen (early 1660s) in the Wallace Collection in London. Two men crowd around a third,…

Mezzotint of a portrait bust of the Irish chemist Robert Boyle (1627–1691) in an arched niche.

A busy chemical workshop with a man in furred collar and physician’s cap, examines a flask, conducting a medical diagnostic or urinoscopy. He consults an open book while at right a woman and a man await results. In…

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…

In this copy after Gerrit Dou's (also known as Gerrit Douw or Dow) popular "The School Master" composition (artist unknown), the old man at the window niche sharpens his pen while his pupils are busy at work in the…

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.…

A seated man with red furred cap writing at table covered with red carpet; a window at left; before him at extreme left a skull on a book. At right a large copper bowl, globe, chair and apparatus. Mid painting in middle…

In this small copy of a larger painting by David Teniers II (artist unknown), a bearded physician examines a flask of urine as his patient, a middle-aged woman, looks on thoughtfully. Before him is an open book, likely…

A three-quarter-length portrait of Thomas Graham (1805–1869), the Scottish chemist who worked on the diffusion of gases.

A seated portrait of William Hyde Wollaston (1766–1828), English chemist and physicist. He is holding spectacles and a piece of paper.

A half-length portrait of French scientist Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac (1778–1850).