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 Peter Paul Rubens, one of the 17th century's most acclaimed artists. In this rich interior small red-lidded apothecary's jars mingle with musical instruments, marble urns, books, shells, and mirrors. At right, a young assistant in a red coat works a hand-bellows to heat a small distillation apparatus. Beside him, a young boy of African descent plucks a piece of fruit from an overflowing basket. Far in the background, in a tiled room beside a staircase, a dentist examines the teeth of a male patient.