A strong, dark 18th century impression of Bartsch's third and final state, Usticke's fourth state of seven, in which the beam of light directed towards Faust's face is divided in the middle into two parts, issued in the Basan Receuil.

In excellent condition, printed on a sheet with small margins on all four sides. Whether the subject of this etching is indeed the Dr. Faustus of Christopher Marlowe's play is unclear. The drama, which is about a man who makes a deal with the devil, does not feature a passage corresponding to the scene depicted in this etching. Adding to the difficulty of interpretation is the cryptic diagram that appears in the center of the glowing orb that is Faust's vision. No scholar or collector has been able to precisely identify its meaning. Perhaps it was not intended to be decodable, but, in its inscrutableness, to convey the arcane nature of a magic spell. In keeping with the idea that this vision is of a secret formula, some records list the print as being titled 'The Alchemist at Work'. A feeling of mystery is perpetuated in many elements of the image: a shadowy figure hunches outside the window, and a strange form, shrouded in cloth hovers above the central figure's head. That the man in the etching is a scholar is certain. His desk is crowded with books, writing instruments and a globe. The learned man is surrounded by darkness - perhaps symbolic of that which has not yet to be illuminated by the light of knowledge. That this elucidation seems to come from a magical or mystical source (the glowing sphere) is consistent with the nature of alchemy - a pursuit which combines both scientific and magical thinking. A similar combination of magic and scholarship is present in the character of Marlowe's Faust, which may explain the persistent usage of this possibly incorrect title.

Bartsch 270 iii/iii; Hind 260; Biorklund-Barnard 52-4, Usticke 270 iv/vii

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