Chemical Laboratory (France, 1765)

This depiction from the Encyclopédie is the first depiction of a laboratory organized according to scientific principles. The room is populated by a group of researchers which already appears modern. They perform different tasks at different positions: A chemist sitting at the table discusses the production of solutions with a physicist; on the left, a laboratory assistant brings coal from the cellar; and on the right, another laboratory assistant washes vessels.

Chemical laboratory, 1765, unknown artist; source: Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, Planches, Neuchatel 1765, vol. 33, "Chimie", Figure I.