#old master painting

We don’t usually post sold items here, but this 18th-century print after the Flemish painter David Teniers, titled “Philosopher Laughing at Magick,” intrigues us. It might be presumed that the fantastical creatures and supernatural forces associated with alchemy and magic that surround the philosopher — a man of reason — are described in the book that he is reading with a bemused and skeptical smile on his face.  The title of the print states that the philosopher is laughing at magic, but its overwhelming presence in the print makes his relationship with mysticism and the occult somewhat ambiguous. Is he instead an alchemist or fascinated by the theories of alchemy? See more here: https://www.georgeglazer.com/wpmain/product/old-master-philosopher-laughing-at-magick-david-teniers-antique-print-london-c-1775/