The Alchymist, in Search of the Philosopher's Stone, Discovers Phosphorus, and Prays for the Successful Conclusion of his Operation, as was the Custom of the Ancient Chymical Astrologers
Medium
mezzotint
Dimensions
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Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Alma and Robert D. Milne Fund
Accession Number
1995.2
Tags
About this artwork
The print’s title and the medieval-looking interior filled with instruments identify the kneeling figure as an alchemist, someone who seeks the philosopher’s stone, a mythic substance that was thought to transform ordinary metals into gold and reverse the aging process. Here, the alchemist’s experiments accidentally lead him to discover the chemical element phosphorus, seen glowing in the flask before him. In choosing this moment of illumination, the artist crafted a potent allegory of the Enlig...