Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Alchimia de' Fiamminghi (The Flemish Alchemist) |
Object Name |
Engraving |
Object ID |
FA 2000.001.112 |
Description |
This print, first engraved by Thomas Major and re-published in Venice, reproduces a painting by David Teniers II. An elderly, finely-dressed alchemist uses a pair of hand-bellows to heat the coals beneath his distillation apparatus. Seated before a furnace, he is surrounded by open books, pans, flasks, and earthenware vessels. Behind him a pair of assistants work with a mortar and pestle at a table, while a thid man looks on from a window above. The shop appears orderly and productive. An inscription beneath the print reads, "Per far acquisto di salute e d'oro/ Suda un mortal e si consuma al foco: Ma vede l'infelice a poco a poco/ Dispergersi col fumo il suo lavoro." ("To purchase health and gold / Sweating, his soul is consumed in the fire: But you see little by little his misfortune / scattered in smoke with his work.") |
Artist |
Major, Thomas |
Artist 2 |
Teniers II, David (after) |
Date |
mid-1700s |
Dimensions |
H-15.25 W-11.25 inches |
Material |
Ink, Paper |
Medium |
Engraving |
Collection |
Fisher Collection |
Search Terms |
Engravings Portraits Alchemy in art Alchemists Laboratories Eighteenth century Major, Thomas, 1720-1799 Teniers, David, 1610-1690 |
Provenance |
Fisher Scientific, Pittsburg, PA; Fisher Scientific International Inc., Hampton, NH, until 2000. The Chemical Heritage Foundation, 2000 (from Scientific International Inc.). |