ABSTRACT
Joseph Wright of Derby's painting of The Alchymist in Search of the Philosopher's Stone … (1771/1775) is an enigmatic depiction of alchemy in an age of Enlightenment science. In this chapter, an analysis of Wright's “scientific” and “industrial” subjects confirms his use of religious iconography as well as the influence of John Locke and his employment of the sublime, all of which have been noted elsewhere. But we can also find a use of alchemical iconography in these works that has received less attention in the literature. Wright's approach to modern science and industry thus appears deliberately ambivalent. If the painting of The Alchymist has an enduring relevance today, beyond its historical significance, it may be that our contemporary experience of science and technology still has something in common with the religious revelation that Wright's alchemist is experiencing in his laboratory, in front of the glowing flask of phosphorous.
