Alchemist Scene - Oil On Copper, 19th Century - Antique Frame

Charming little 19th-century oil-on-copper painting of an interior scene inspired by 17th-century Flemish and Dutch compositions.

Chez L'alchimiste, Huile Sur Cuivre Du XIX Eme Siècle:

"La visite chez l'alchimiste",

very fine 19th-century oil-on-copper in its original gilded and blackened wood frame.
a charming composition inspired by Flemish paintings in the spirit of Teniers etc...
the painter had fun giving the alchemist Leonardo da Vinci airs, he is richly dressed in the fashion of the time.
A woman at his side appears to be a servant or perhaps a client.
In the foreground, a table is lined with open books like grimoires, a candle, a mortar and a skull.
elements attributed to alchemists and vanities or memento mori.
the details are beautifully fine, the face of the alchemist looking at his flask is very well realized.
the colors are fresh and luminous, a matte varnish comes to protect the whole.
a very pretty composition mixing the alchemist with the vanity of life.

summary:
The scene features an alchemist examining a flask, in the presence of a young woman, probably his assistant or a visitor. The whole is treated with characteristic attention to detail: open books, a mortar, a lit candle and a skull (vanity) enrich the composition and give it a symbolic dimension around knowledge, time and transformation.

The painting is distinguished by a warm palette and fine execution, particularly in the faces and fabrics. The copper support provides good luminosity and excellent color retention.
Nineteenth-century work in the taste of the Old Masters.
Presented in an antique molded and gilded wooden frame (probably original or slightly later).

Condition
Good overall condition.

Small wear and light traces of time visible, without major alteration of legibility.

Frame with wear and minor missing parts.

Dimensions:

Sight dimensions: 13 cm and 16 cm high

Dimensions with frame: 23 cm and 27 cm high

Period:
Nineteenth century

Technique:
Oil on copper

Style:
In the taste of the Flemish / Dutch schools of the 17th century

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