Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
The Alchemist |
Object Name |
Painting |
Object ID |
FA 2000.001.286 |
Description |
A grey-bearded alchemist in a fur-lined robe sits before a furnace, working a pair of hand bellows as he tends a small crucible. Beside him, matter distills in a long-necked alembic. Earthenware vessels and jars line the floor, along with discarded glass distillation equipment and books. In the background, two assistants gather by a hearth while another man looks in from an upper window. On the open floor, a cat coils ready to pounce on a small, unsuspecting mouse. Above the scene hangs a stuffed reptile specimen, suspended from the ceiling with string. The alchemist's full and heavy purse suggests some success in his endeavors. |
Artist |
Anonymous |
Artist 2 |
After David Teniers II |
Date |
1600s |
Dimensions |
H-19.5 W-25.25 inches |
Material |
Oil Paint, Panel |
Medium |
Painting |
Collection |
Fisher Collection |
Search Terms |
Alchemists Alchemy in art Animals, Mythical, in art Apothecaries Apprentices Assistants Bellows Books Candle Cat Coin Purses Copper Basin Crucible Distillation Distillation apparatus Earthenware Flask Furnace Jars Laboratories Metallurgy Mice Painting Reptiles Retort Seventeenth century Teniers, David, 1610-1690 Vials |
Provenance |
Fisher Scientfific International Inc., Hampton, NH Fisher Scientific, Pittsburgh, PA since 1937. Vicars Brokers, Ltd. UK. Private Collection, Mortimer Hills, Berkshire, England, until 1937. Walker Sale, Christie's London, June 11, 1928, lot 127 to Rosenberg (noted in catalog at National Gallery of Canada Library, Ottawa) Sir. A. S. Hunter, purchased in 1852. |