09-20-2023, 09:59 AM
Representation of Alchemists in Sixteenth-century Netherlandish Art
by Dana Rehn
"The earliest representation of an alchemist in Netherlandish art is an engraving dated to the sixteenth century by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569)...In Bruegel’s intricately detailed image, a dilapidated family kitchen doubles as a laboratory. The alchemist sitting at the hearth on the left appears to be placing the family’s last coin in a crucible to be melted in the alchemical process. This point is further underscored by his wife, who is seated in a hunched posture behind him and attempts to empty the contents of an already empty purse"
https://danarehn.com/2021/11/03/poverty-...ers-stone/
by Dana Rehn
"The earliest representation of an alchemist in Netherlandish art is an engraving dated to the sixteenth century by the Flemish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569)...In Bruegel’s intricately detailed image, a dilapidated family kitchen doubles as a laboratory. The alchemist sitting at the hearth on the left appears to be placing the family’s last coin in a crucible to be melted in the alchemical process. This point is further underscored by his wife, who is seated in a hunched posture behind him and attempts to empty the contents of an already empty purse"
https://danarehn.com/2021/11/03/poverty-...ers-stone/