Axial Commons Image Treasury
Engraving of a bearded scholar reading by candlelight beside a skeleton, a globe and a furnace, in an ornate frame.

A philosopher in his study, reading a book containing a print of a skeleton. Etching by J.A. von Prenner, 1728, after C. Paudiss.

An elderly bearded scholar in a dark robe sits at a cluttered table, reading a large open book by candlelight. Around him stand a skeleton figure, a globe, a flask, and a glowing furnace in a dim study. Engraved in fine line within an ornate decorative border.

Artist
Paudiss, Christoph, approximately 1625-1666.
Date
1728
Medium
Source
Wellcome Collection
Size
4000 × 3244 px
Download full size
Public domain · Wellcome Collection marks it Public Domain Mark; made by 1728.
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: Public Domain Mark (Wellcome Collection)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Wellcome Collection

Español: Un filósofo en su estudio, leyendo

Un erudito barbado con túnica oscura se sienta ante una mesa abarrotada y lee un gran libro abierto a la luz de una vela. A su alrededor hay una figura de esqueleto, un globo, un frasco y un horno encendido en un estudio en penumbra. Grabado en línea fina dentro de un marco ornamentado.

Português: Um filósofo em seu estúdio, lendo

Um erudito barbudo de túnica escura senta-se a uma mesa cheia de objetos e lê um grande livro aberto à luz de uma vela. Ao redor dele há uma figura de esqueleto, um globo, um frasco e um forno aceso em um estúdio na penumbra. Gravura em linhas finas dentro de uma moldura ornamentada.

More from Alchemy and Hidden Wisdom

Etching of a cat on a ledge looking at a hanging birdcage beside a brick wall, with a hazy town and hills in the distance.Kloosterleven in emblemenEtching of a crane putting its long beak into a wolf's open mouth, with a river town and boats in the background and a Latin caption above.A crane inserts its beak into the mouth of a wolf; illustrating Aesop's fable. Etching by Engraving of a radiant cloud over a tower of figures, with four cloud-framed heads in the corners and a banner of text.Integrum morborum mysterium, sive medicinæ catholicæ tomi primi tractatus secundus. [PulsuEngraved emblem of two winged putti in an oval frame; one holds up a flask while the other points to an arrow, with a town behind them.A putto with an arrow in his heart is asking a putto who is holding a urine flask for helpBlack-and-white woodcut of a man in profile facing right, wearing a flat cap and cloak, with a Latin caption below.Henrici Cornelii Agrippae ab Nettesheym ... De occulta philosophia libri tres .... / [HeinWood engraving of a robed alchemist pointing at a diagram board while a crowd listens in a vaulted hall.An alchemist standing before a board illustrated with diagrams, lecturing to a crowd on th