In this fanciful scene, an alchemist stands near a hot crucible, dropping a scorpion into the mixture while flames and smoke billow outwards. Simply dressed, the alchemist wears a protective apron and a tall red cap. On…

Interior scene of a group of alchemists analyzing metals and taking notes at a table with other figures working nearby.

Painting titled An Alchemist's Laboratory, depicts a bearded alchemist in a monk-like robe studying an open text on his lap. Beside him, an open furnace provides a warm orange glow of leaping flames and a thin trail of…

De re metallica, or On the Nature of Metals [Minerals], published in 1556, documents leading knowledge and practices of its time in mining, refining, and smelting metals and includes 273 woodcut illustrations. At the…

A first edition work, with two volumes bound in one folio, by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a German Jesuit scholar who published many extensive works on scientific, religious, and other subjects. Dubbed the “Master…

The alchemist pauses in his work to glance over one shoulder at the distillation experiments in progress beside him. A multi-level furnace supports an alembic and receiver. A small text, perhaps a recipe collection or…

A man dressed in peasant garb holds a gold scale in right hand and reaches with left for red substance in open paper packet. At left through window are building roofs; the light illuminates a dark, cluttered workshop…

In the warm light of a left-hand window, a scholar sits absorbed in his work. His desk is topped with a wooden lectern, small vials and vessels, a globe, and an apothecary's jar with a red cloth lid. The room in which…

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…

The alchemist's workroom, cluttered with broken vessels and scattered papers, is lit with warm yellow light from the double window at left. Through a large archway we see the alchemist at work by his desk, studiously…

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…

Warm light from an open window at left falls on the seated figure of an alchemist and his standing assistant. The alchemist glances up from his writing, quill in hand, as his assistant carries in a small vessel. On the…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

The alchemist's wife looks on in dismay as the alchemist himself makes a demonstration before the furnace. Behind the couple, an assistant stokes the flames with a large bellows. At left, the alchemist's children play…

A painting in brunaille, a monochromatic image in tones of brown. This painting shows a seated alchemist in peasant garb. In his hands he holds a crucible and a pair of tongs, working before the light of a glowing fire…

In this variation of a painting by Gerard Dou, a scholarly alchemist, wearing a fur-lined robe, gazes with directness at the viewer as he composes his note. Holding a small quill pen with an open text before him, the…

An alchemist seated at his desk glances down at his assistant, who works on the floor beside him. A globe and lectern indicate his scholarly studies. Large earthenware jars, jugs, and other vessels sit piled high beside…

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…