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 the 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.