The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 14, 2025

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

1775

William Pether

(British, c. 1738–1821)

after Joseph Wright of Derby

(British, 1734–1797)
publisher

William Pether

(British (modern), 1728-1821)
England, 18th century
mezzotint
Image: 56.1 x 45.5 cm (22 1/16 x 17 15/16 in.); Plate: 58 x 45.6 cm (22 13/16 x 17 15/16 in.); Sheet: 64.6 x 50.7 cm (25 7/16 x 19 15/16 in.)
Alma and Robert D. Milne Fund 1995.2
Catalogue raisonné: Clayton 163; Chaloner Smith 44; Cora 39
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Joseph Wright of Derby’s composition was based on the story of Hennig Brand, the German alchemist who accidentally discovered phosphorus in 1676.

Description

The print’s title and the medieval-looking interior filled with instruments identify the kneeling figure as an alchemist, someone who seeks the philosopher’s stone, a mythic substance that was thought to transform ordinary metals into gold and reverse the aging process. Here, the alchemist’s experiments accidentally lead him to discover the chemical element phosphorus, seen glowing in the flask before him. In choosing this moment of illumination, the artist crafted a potent allegory of the Enlightenment in which the creative force of imagination becomes true knowledge through reason and observation.
  • ?–1995
    (Artemis, Ltd., London, England, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    March 6, 1995–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Imagination in the Age of Reason. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 28, 2024-March 2, 2025).
    From Rembrandt to Rauschenberg: Recently Acquired Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 17-November 26, 2000).
  • {{cite web|title=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|url=false|author=William Pether, Joseph Wright of Derby, William Pether|year=1775|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1995.2