The Alchemist Discovering Phosphorus is a painting by Joseph
Wright of Derby 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 by the Hamburg alchemist Hennig Brand 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, 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 favorable 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".
The Alchemist by
Thomas Wijck
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 when painting St Francis receiving
the Stigmata or St Jerome in Prayer. Benedict Nicolson 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's painting 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, 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 recognized artist, the
painting was not sold when he first exhibited it. The picture traveled 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.
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