An Alchemist in His Study

• 17th century
• Egbert van Heemskerk I, Dutch
• 15 x 19.75 in.
  Oil on canvas
• On display in Transmutations
• Gift of Fisher Scientific International
• Fisher Collection
• FA 2000.001.278
• No known copyright restrictions

Description

A gray-bearded scholar in a red cap writes at his desk with a quill. In front of him on tables and the floor are many fabric-covered ceramic jars tied with string, a celestial globe, glass jars stoppered with twists, and a pipe. Illumination is from a window at the left. From the ceiling hangs a birdcage entwined with a vine, the bird sitting outside the cage, as well as a hanging sword and three fantastical creatures. In the background a man attends a furnace.