''The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus'' is a painting by

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

originally completed in 1771 then reworked in 1795. The full title of the painting is ''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''. It has been suggested that ''The Alchymist'' refers to the discovery of

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

by the

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

alchemist Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscience, protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in Chinese alchemy, C ...

Hennig Brand Hennig Brand (; c. 1630c. 1692 or c. 1710) was a German alchemist who lived and worked in Hamburg. In 1669, Brand accidentally discovered the chemical element phosphorus while searching for the "philosopher's stone", a substance which was believed ...

in 1669. This story was often printed in popular chemical books in Wright's lifetime, and was widely known.

Description

The picture shows the alchemist trying to produce the elusive

Philosopher's stone The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...

, which could turn ordinary metal into gold, but instead, to his amazement, he discovers phosphorus. However, Wright does not picture the alchemist in a 17th-century background, but he romanticises the room by imagining medieval gothic arches and high, pointed windows as if he is in a church. He also gave a very favourable impression of the actual process, which involves the reduction by boiling of urine. A 1730 description of the manufacture of phosphorus described the need for 50 or 60 pails of urine that was both putrid and "bred worms". Thomas Wijck - An Alchemist - WGA25742

Wright also gives religious connotations to the painting. The alchemist kneels in front of a shining vessel, stretching out his hands in a similar gesture to that used by

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

when painting ''St Francis receiving the Stigmata'' or ''St Jerome in Prayer''.

Benedict Nicolson Lionel Benedict Nicolson (6 August 1914 – 22 May 1978) was a British art historian and author. Nicolson was the elder son of authors Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West and the brother of writer and politician Nigel Nicolson, Nigel. ...

compares his posture to that of one of Christ's disciples receiving communion. He believes that the layout of the painting may have been taken from

Thomas Wijck Thomas Wijck (also Thomas Wijk, or Thomas Wyck; 1616–1677) was a Dutch painter of port views and genre paintings. Biography Wijck was born into an artist family and received his training from his father. He journeyed to Italy, presumably by 16 ...

's painting (''left'') of an alchemist, which also contains similar vaulting, a confusion of objects and a similar assistant who is singled out by the light. This painting from the previous century was on display in London during Wright's lifetime. However, it is clear from a sketch by Wright's companion,

Peter Perez Burdett Peter Perez Burdett (c. 1734 – 9 September 1793) was an 18th-century cartographer, surveyor, artist, and draughtsman originally from Eastwood in Essex where he inherited a small estate and chose the name ''Perez'' from the birth surname of ...

, that he had a strong influence on the design. His sketch of 4 February 1771 shows the vaulting and the layout of the painting, with the glass container as its focus. It is Burdett who says where to place the figure in the painting, and Burdett had already referred Wright to Matthew Turner so that Wright might fully understand the underlying science in the painting.

History

Since its exhibition in 1771, the picture has provoked many contradictory interpretations. Its mystery obviously disturbed 18th-century viewers, and although Wright was an internationally recognised artist, the painting was not sold when he first exhibited it. The picture travelled with Wright to Italy in 1773–1775, came back to England, was reworked in 1795, but was only sold four years after his death, when his possessions were auctioned at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus Paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby Collections of Derby Museum and Art Gallery 1771 paintings Fiction about alchemy Science in art