claim: Joseph Merrick had nothing to do with the play The Elephant Man.
evidence: The Charlatan -LRB- Italian Il Ciarlatano -RRB- is a large 1656 satirical painting by the Italian Baroque artist Bernardino Mei .. Baroque. Baroque painting. Bernardino Mei. Bernardino Mei. It shows an aged charlatan seated on an armchair resting on a trestle stage in the Piazza del Campo , the main square of the Tuscan town of Siena .. charlatan. charlatan. trestle. trestle. Piazza del Campo. Piazza del Campo. Tuscan. Tuscany. Siena. Siena. He holds in his left-hand the tools of his trade ; vials and remedies , with pitchers and an invoice reading L'olio de filosofi di Straccione -LRB- Straccione 's Philosopher 's oil -RRB- lying on the cheap timbre below him .. The man is hefty and dressed in old , filthy clothes - he bears a dirty white robe with a blue sash , white leggings and heavy black shoes - and an unkempt beard ; Bernardino has unflatteringly portrayed him as a mixture of a second rate old testament prophet , tattered alchemical philosopher , and the forbidding Roman god Saturn .. old testament. old testament. alchemical. alchemical. Saturn. Saturn ( mythology ). The old man 's simple minded audience look up at him with a sense of wonder and awe ; one , dressed in a rose coloured gown is so overcome that he seems about to faint and reaches for a sniff of a remedy to regain strength .. Mei has abandoned any pretence of perspective , the charlatan is several times larger than the member of his audience , and is seemingly suspended in the air , floating above the rabble below .. charlatan. charlatan. He looks out directly at the viewer , offering one of his potions in his raised right hand , with his head bowed in faux humility .. Mei utilises mostly dark tones , and although the main figure is hugely imposing to the viewer , the overall mood is sombre and melancholy .. Although alchemists were still popular with the middle classes at the time the painting was created , they were maligned figures in the eyes of the educated .. The work was popular as a print in the 18th century , however the relevance of its message was lost soon after .