A bald-headed alchemist peers through his spectacles at the heated crucible his assistant holds up. A second crucible and a larger experiment sit on the fire at the left. On the floor sits a hand bellows, some pieces of firewood, and a set of tattered books. Shelves of jars and vials line the back wall, and a paper print has been pinned up. A second assistant enters the humble workshop through a door at right.