Thomas Wijck

Carl Peter Freiherr von Aretin (1814-1887), Schloss Haidenburg, Aldersbach, Germany;

Probably his sale, Munich, Carl Maurer, 15 November 1887, lot 53;

With Dr. Karl Lilienfeld, New York;

From whom acquired by Berndt Grönblom, Helsinki, 1960;

Thence by descent to H.V. Hobley, Helsinki;

By whom anonymously sold, New York, Christie's, 26 January 2005, lot 249;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

This signed painting by Thomas Wijck depicts an alchemist in his laboratory. As modern science gained prominence in seventeenth-century Europe, alchemy–a blend of philosophy, occultism, magic, and chemistry–was dismissed as a foolish pursuit, but must have continued to fascinate artists who depicted the practice into the eighteenth century. Wijck frequently painted alchemists in their studies, cluttered with the tools of the trade such as glass jars, vials, tomes, and crucibles. These spaces were rich with detail, blending still life elements with moral commentary. The Dutch art market valued such realistic depictions of varying textures and objects, but the disorder and isolation of these painted laboratories hinted at the futility of their inhabitants' pursuits, reflecting the Netherlandish tendency to moralize. 

Unlike the often highly satirical interpretations of his contemporaries, Wijck’s alchemists are portrayed as respectable figures, and his alchemical imagery drew parallels between their craft and his own as a painter. Just as alchemists blended materials to create new substances, Wyck mixed pigments and binders to produce works of art.