A physician examining a urine flask brought by a young woman. Oil painting, 19th century, after Hendrik Heerschop.
- Heerschop, Hendrik, 1626 or 1627-1690.
- Reference:
- 44700i
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Description
In the dark study of a physician (scholar, alchemist, philosopher etc.), the physician, wearing a black cap and robes, sits at a table by the window, left, and holds up in his left hand a flask of urine. To right of him, in the centre, stands a young woman holding the wicker basket in which urine-flasks were commonly carried. On the physician's table are some folio-sized books and a skull. On the floor and around the room are books and pieces of pharmaceutical equipment
Physical description
1 painting : oil on canvas ; canvas 45.5 x 55.2 cm
Contributors
Reference
Wellcome Collection 44700i
Creator/production credits
The subject, the composition and the figure-types are all characteristic of paintings by Hendrick Heerschop (Haarlem 1620- after 1672), who had studied under Willem Claesz. Heda. The detail in the centre foreground of this picture, showing a book kept open by the weight of a chemical retort, appears also in a painting of an alchemist in the Wellcome Library (catalogue number 44700i), which is signed by Heerschop and dated 1665. However, owing to the findings of cleaning tests,the present painting is inferred to be a later copy
Type/Technique
Where to find it
Location Status Access Closed storesNote