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Digital Collections

Paintings

Alchemists at work

  • After 1620 – before 1690

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BY 4.0

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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 "book of secrets," is raised in his right hand. The hourglass and hanging skull both remind the viewer of time's passage, while the full and heavy purse on the alchemist's belt suggests his worldly success.

Property Value
Manner of
Provenance

(sale, Christie's South Kensington, October 28, 1993, lot. 219, one of a pair.)
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Medium
Extent
  • 10 in. H x 8.5 in. W
Subject
Rights Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Credit line
  • Courtesy of Science History Institute

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Cite as

Alchemists at Work. Oil paint (paint), metal, n.d. Science History Institute. Philadelphia. https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/73666569w.

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