Surgeon operating on a man's foot

In a small workshop a medical alchemist tends to the foot of a seated patient while the man's wife and child look on. At left, an assistant grinds a substance--likely a medicine or salve--in a small mortar and pestle. The humble shop is furnished with a table, a small shelf of vials and jars, and a paper print pasted against the rear wall. This painting was produced by adhering a lithographic print to a thin metal plate and painting over the top of it in oil.