Portrait of Michał Sędziwój

This oil painting shows a middle-aged man with a prominent white beard and mustache, wearing a dark cap with a reddish crown. He is dressed in a dark, fur-trimmed garment and a chain draped over his shoulders. In front of his chest, he holds a rectangular plaque displaying the image of a white stork, a common alchemical symbol for the transformative process. The background is a dark, indistinct wash, focusing the viewer's attention on the subject's serious expression.

Michał Sędziwój (Michael Sendivogius) was a prominent 17th-century alchemist and author of 'Novum Lumen Chymicum' (The New Chemical Light). The stork imagery is frequently associated with his work and the alchemical tradition of the 'Great Work'.