An alchemist in his laboratory. Oil painting by or after B. van den Bossche or G. Thomas.

1 painting : oil on canvas ; canvas 70.5 x 87 cm

Book on table has page-heading: Liber primus Galeni

Wellcome Collection 45112i

The composition is identical to that of a picture of a sculptor's studio attributed to Gerard Thomas (Het atelier van een beeldhouwer met bezoekers, copy-photograph in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie ref no 0000135747), but a number of the faces and figures are different. It is also very close in style and layout to another painting attributed to Gerard Thomas (offered for sale at Bonham's, London, 9-10 July 2002, no 321, as "The quack"). A number of the items in the Wellcome Library painting are identical to those in the Bonham's work. The same group of figures found in the left foreground are also found in a work attributed to Balthasar van den Bossche (photograph in the Witt Library)