Created c. 1558, this large print is a 1st state, lifetime impression according to René Bastelaer. It has full margins all around and features the crown watermark (Heawood 1056) , dating to 1560 - 1568, a lifetime impression. Featuring Brueghel's inscribed signature in the upper left, this is an extremely rare print - the only example of its kind to ever come up for sale (a 3rd state impression was sold a number of years ago) .

Holding a fond place in Brueghel's extensive œuvre as one of his most famous works, The Alchemist tells a complex tale of life's lessons learned. Its incredibly rich detail add to the composition's striking presence and mix of characters that make up the scene. According to Klein, a family is depicted here, with the Alchemist and his wife and children:

His future and final fate is shown beyond the window, in an ingenious example of graphic "time travel." There the same five members of the family - alchemist, wife, and children - now completely penniless are being received at the poorhouse, or "hospital." One of the children in this future scene still wears the same pot on his head as in the main picture. The alchemist still wears one slipper, and one shoe of a sort. A bleak prospect, and inevitable. (Klein 94)

Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work) :

1. Bastelaer, René van. The Prints of Peter Bruegel the Elder, Catalogue Raisonné New Edition, Alan Wofsy Fine Arts: San Francisco, 1992. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 197 on pgs. 263-5.

2. Heawood, M.A., Edward. Watermarks, Mainly of the 17th and 18th Centuries, The Paper Publications Society: Amsterdam, 1969. The crown watermark is listed as catalogue raisonné no. 1056 and illustrated on pl. 149 and referenced on pg. 87.

3. Klein, H. Arthur. Graphic Worlds of Peter Bruegel the Elder, Dover Publications: New York, 1963. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 38 on pgs. 94-5.

4. Orenstein, Nadine M., ed. for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints, Yale University Press: New Haven, 2001. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 61 on pgs. 170-2.

About the Framing:
Set in an Spanish style black and gold frame, the ribbon detailing of the moulding compliments the meandering curved shapes within the image. The black and gold coloration of the work also serves to enhance the contrasting colors within the frame as well. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats with a matching gold inner fillet, The Alchemist is set behind an archival Plexiglas cover.