To learn more about everything related to the work of art Anatomy lesson by Dr Nicolaes Tulp, where the power and prestige of this doctor is demonstrated, visit this interesting article and learn with us about this great artist named Rembrandt Harmenszoon.
What is the anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp about?
The work of art anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp was made by a young Dutch artist named Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. At just twenty-six years of age, this painter was born on July 15, 1606 in the city of Leiden, the cradle of medicine.
He attended the University but it was not what he wanted to study so he talked to his parents and went to Amsterdam to study painting for the year 1631. It is imperative to tell you that Rembrandt was the son of a family of millers and only he dedicated himself To painting.
Then in the year 1634 he married a lady named Saskia van Uylenburgh, a lady of high birth who was the cousin of one of the best art dealers in that city.
This nuptial agreement was very prosperous for the painter of an anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp since it allowed him to contact the wealthiest social class, which increased the requests for portraits and paintings for Dutch high society.
His brother-in-law is the one who is in charge of recommending him to Dr Nicolaes Tulp who was interested in a group portrait while dissecting a human body with the intention of celebrating his prestige in the Dutch medical organization.
Being the XNUMXth century, portraits were very popular for that period of time in the city of Amsterdam as well as in the other Netherlands, so group portraits became the social symbol of the class, being one of the first to carry out the lesson. of anatomy of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.
It is Rembrandt who poses a scene in which we observe Dr Tulp dissecting a corpse around seven students around him, interested in the actions carried out by the doctor.
It is evident in the face of the doctor, the only character that appears with a hat that highlights his position, transmits to the students and the public that participates in the work a total security in his work.
While the faces of the students show us different sensations when witnessing the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. Some show his surprised face while others are excited and even consult the medical notes.
Everything is represented by Rembrandt's brush with excellent realism. One of the qualities of this pictorial work is the study of light carried out by the artist to make the composition, since the light falls directly on the faces of the participants.
Standing out from the darkness of the room where the autopsy study is carried out, the paleness of the corpse is the element from which the light radiates, illuminating the participants in the group theater.
This light effect was very typical of the baroque era of Rembrandt, since the dark environment that can be seen in the painting Anatomy Lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is known by the term tenebrist style and the greatest exponent was the Italian Caravaggio.
It was very well seen to appear in group portraits accompanied by people of great power in the Dutch upper class, which is why many people canceled to appear in group portraits as if it were today a technological social network.
So these group portraits were a great feat for the artists of the time who had to meet the demands of the participants who paid an amount to be drawn in a privileged space as seen in the anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
Historic moment
Regarding Amsterdam, it was part of the provinces of the Netherlands where its religion was Calvinism and it was finally independent from Spain after thirty years of confrontation, so it could trade freely with other nations.
As for Venice, which was its buttress in maritime transport, it was in an economic deficit because it did not comply with sanitary regulations during the bubonic plague that decimated a third of the population, so it was no longer a maritime power.
Allowing 50% of the trade to be carried by Dutch ships they had ports in the Indian Ocean, Japan, Formosa, Java, Guiana, East and West Indies, Brazil and New Amsterdam today known as New York City.
The group pictures that were made demonstrated the economic prosperity of the bourgeoisie since it was well seen at that historical moment to be portrayed accompanied by people of great social and economic status.
For what many people paid to be part of a sober group portrait typical of the Calvinist religion that values the concrete, close and everyday of individualism in terms of the prosperity and lifestyle of people who enjoyed being captured in corporate group portraits .
The Netherlands was experiencing great economic strength, so merchants were interested in being portrayed reflecting their lifestyle in these artistic works.
It is in the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp where modern science and man's ability to know the human body are reflected, so that baroque art stands out in the daily actions of the bourgeoisie in the Netherlands while in Spain it was reflected splendor in religious themes.
Religion and its relationship with art
Due to the economic and social rise shown by Amsterdam's high society, they were interested in reflecting their prosperity in the artistic field as well.
As far as the Protestant religion is concerned, it gave authority to the word over the image, although it allowed the upper classes to enjoy the visual pleasure which was part of the ideology.
Among the most important upper class people in Dutch society was Dr. Nicolaes Tulp in the 1632th century and in the year XNUMX he was a medical eminence, he was thirty-nine years old at the time, being a medical student of anatomy and excellent surgeon.
This doctor was an excellent lecturer, not only did he write medical treatises, he made the discovery of the ileocecal valve, also known as the Tulp valve. He was a very representative political figure in the city, leading eight times the function of treasurer in Amsterdam.
But the study of medicine through anatomy brought a confrontation with the Catholic Church, because at this time you must remember that Galileo Galilei faced the Inquisition. Although they were Calvinists and this was a breakthrough in science for posterity.
For which the scientific revolution is observed as well as theological and in the year 1632 the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is painted, suitable to carry out the action of dissecting an extremity of the upper member.
It is the XNUMXth century, certain points of view are debated because in Italy death is a sudden process while in northern Europe the soul is separated from the body so studies can be carried out since the body is only the box where it has already departed the soul.
The inmates were sentenced to dissection as part of the punishment for their misdeeds and their body had to accept the sentence through medical action that studies body appearance.
Through the anatomy lessons, the bodies of those sentenced were used to dismember them for the knowledge of science. A great antagonism is preserved in the European continent. On the one hand, southern Europe did not accept the advances of Galileo's telescope.
While the north of this European continent was stupefied with the scientific discoveries that were being made in the name of science.
So in this anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, it can be seen how the students are enthralled with the autopsy that the doctor is giving as if it were a religious class.
But it is totally different, it is a scientific foundation that is related to empiricism. Dr Nicolaes Tulp presents a new vision of the world through science.
It is heard with great enthusiasm by the society of these Protestant nations where knowledge is based on empirical confirmation of observing the facts.
It is the year 1664 when in the English nation that was Protestant, it is commissioned through the figure of Thomas Willis to dissect brains with the intention of knowing the seat of the soul.
And in the year 1668 the microscope was invented by the scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek in the Netherlands, even Descartes escaped from the French nation arriving in Leyden with the intention of having freedom of thought.
Analysis of the anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
As can be seen in the anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the background is accompanied by shadows that are barely visible in the artistic work, two books are evident, one of which is in the lower right-hand side, being the anatomy encyclopedia.
That at that historical moment there was a boom in medical science called De Humani Corporis fabrica by Andreas Vesalius published in 1543, which was used to study medicine and is translated into Spanish as Of the structure of the Human Body.
In addition, in this artistic painting, an anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, another book can be seen that is in the hands of one of the assistants who is to the right of the medical professor.
Where the names of those attending the group portrait of the dissection of a part of the human body, in this case the left forearm, are presented.
This anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is not only performed for the spectators of the artistic work but also for the audience that is in the amphitheater surrounding the table where the dissection is performed.
It is essential to tell you that by the time this artistic work is done, an anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the painter Rembrandt alludes to another pictorial work.
Known as the anatomy lesson of Doctor Sebastián Egbertsz that was made for the year 1619 that was made by the painter Thomas Keyzer.
Where it is evident that the middle line is demarcated by the figure of the skeleton and the other images are made from two triangles that are symmetrically perfect.
Being an image that was in the mind of our painter Rembrandt when he made the group portrait of the anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp who breaks the paradigm of static uniformity.
It is Dr. Tulp who is in charge of controlling the situation, it is evident in relation to the dissection, being located to the right of the work, his image together with the other participants make a pyramidal shape ending in a distinctive black hat that represents his height. status at the social level.
The characters that are around him paid to be part of the group portrait that Rembrandt made, being essential to balance the ostentatious figure of Dr Tulp and the corpse to be dissected is in the center surrounded by the other participants.
Features of Dr Nicolaes Tulp's Anatomy Lesson
It is observed in the anatomy lesson painting of Dr Nicolaes Tulp that the main figures of this group portrait are Dr Tulp and the corpse to be dissected, being the central theme to be treated in the pictorial work, increasing the psychological drama of the spectators of the work.
One of the qualities in Rembrandt's artwork is the light source, in this case the light source comes from the corpse being dissected in Dr Nicolaes Tulp's anatomy lesson.
Which generates a duality between death and life among those who do not know that they are the other attendees who observe what happens in a surprising way.
In the anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp it is the medical eminence who explains in detail through his superiority in scientific knowledge.
The students are eager for knowledge making an allusion according to their physical expressions and their postures refer to the disciples who listen to Jesus according to the biblical information.
Similar to a liturgy as if the medical eminence were a priest who gives the prayer here is the knowledge of science that transmits its knowledge from the superior to the inferior and is observed through our eyes as spectators of the anatomy lesson work of the Dr Nicolaes Tulp.
It is one of the apexes that broke the paradigms of the XNUMXth century in the European continent, demonstrating through practice the theory of medicine, since Dr. Tulp gives the class while he is dissecting the corpse and corroborates with the book that is at the bottom of the painting. painted by Rembrandt.
This anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp demonstrates that in the XNUMXth century it was an event of scientific and political relevance not only presented by medical students but also by academics.
Prominent representatives of the political life of the city and other people of Dutch society also attended through the purchase of a ticket to observe the dissection.
The amphitheater was centered on the dissection table and around it several seats in a semicircular shape according to the social rank of the visitors, demonstrating a new way of being present to the audience through science.
When the dissection was of a female corpse, the ticket was more expensive, demonstrating acts of voyeurism by the audience that witnessed the event.
For what is evidenced in this seventeenth century through the artistic work anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp that no one hid his voyeuristic interest in the morbid sensations of observing the corpse through didactic teaching when learning what had been the diseases that had devastated the body to dissect.
This anatomy lesson painting of Dr Nicolaes Tulp made by Rembrandt represents a fusion between the horror and the fascination of observing a body that is going to be dissected, transforming itself into a modern act at the time when many bourgeois attended these events.
Dr Tulp's anatomy lesson shows that one of the students is focused on looking at the anatomy book with the intention of certifying the work done by Dr. Tulp.
While another of the participants is looking at the audience, allowing the spectators to direct their gaze to the anatomical dissection, which is the essential part, being carried out by the medical professor.
Therefore, this anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp expresses a confrontation between the fascination and interest of the participants in facing their fears in the act of discovering the mysteries that the human body hides and are revealed through dissection.
This is demonstrated in the artistic work, the seven participants of the group portrait show the value of science over death according to empiricism.
In this master class, the dissection of an extremity of the left upper limb is evidenced, specifying the muscle called Flexor Digitorum Superficialis by means of forceps.
This was unusual for the time and shows that in the anatomy lesson by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the action of a muscular function is being shown by the way in which the arm is supported.
Two actions are evidenced in the work that are carried out simultaneously in the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, among them that the professor doctor presents through the forceps the action of the muscle of the corpse to which they are going to dissect.
Simultaneously with the left hand he shows the action of the muscle when pressing it, which is reinforced through Rembrandt's brush because one of the participants looks at the forearm of the corpse that they are dissecting, emphasizing the movement that the tendon makes when pressing it.
While another of the participants focuses his attention on Dr. Tulp's left hand, demonstrating that he is performing an anatomy according to the functions of the muscle that they study through practice.
Demonstrating one of the qualities of Rembrandt's pictorial works such as movement and is one of the fundamental ideas in the seventeenth century that is expressed through the arts.
Emphasizes the European thought of this seventeenth century is the movement the centerpiece of the writings of Descartes which was exiled in Holland.
Gassendi, the scientific activities of Galilei who was in complete trouble with the Catholic Church because of the movement of the planets.
Leibniz and not forgetting Newton. Represented Rembrandt through the work of Dr Nicolaes Tulp's anatomy lesson the movement through the human body.
Being a subject of debate this artistic work where the insertion of the flexor digitorum superficialis is observed in the anatomy lesson box of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp originating the lateral epicondyle of the humerus.
Contrast with respect to the work of art
Today it is known with certainty that the actual attachments are the medial epicondyle of the humerus, the coronoid process of the ulna, and the diaphysis of the radius.
In 2006, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the birth of this artist, it was decided to carry out, through specialists, the dissection of an upper left limb to give certainty about some errors in the anatomy lesson work of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
But this was not the case, there was no error, because when the upper left limb of the corpse was extended from the shoulder, the arm, forearm and hand in a supinated position or lying on its back with the palm of the hand facing upwards, it makes the hand turn from inside out.
When placing the wrist on the groin, the forward movement is made, generating the lateral epicondyle of the humerus, moving away from the midline of the body, so the flexor muscles of the forearm that are represented in the artistic work can be confirmed as legitimate action.
The tendons and the insertion in the phalanges are shown, which are the bones that form the fingers as well as the middle and distal ones, so there was no mistake in the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
Although one of the details is that first the viscera were opened and then the limbs, so there must have been an arrangement between Dr Tulp and the painter Rembrandt to only be in charge of painting the dissection of the upper left limb.
Regarding the anatomy lesson work of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the visibility of the disease was reflected and according to another researcher named David le Breton who affirms the following regarding this artistic work regarding contemporary dualism:
“…gives the body the privilege of being scientifically interrogated by the physician with specific questions regardless of any other reference…”
Foucault himself in one of his books entitled: Open some corpses commented the following about the work of art anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp:
"... it will be the platform that will enable Xavier Bichat (1771-1902) a century later, the development of these two juxtaposed forms that are pathological anatomy and clinical based on the deciphering of body space..."
Well, the anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is the eye that convinces the epistemic aspect for the observation of pathological morphology, demonstrating that through the human body it is possible to decipher the enigmas that it hides with the naked eye.
It is observed that they are interested in knowing the internal part of the human body to make movement conscious, only through the anatomy class it is possible to show what the wonderful human body hides.
Description of the work anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
As is well known, Dr. Tulp is teaching his colleagues or participants how the tendons of the left arm of an inmate named Adriaan Adriaanszoon, who was forty-one years old at the time of his death, work.
That same day in which the anatomy lesson painting of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp was carried out, the prisoner had been sentenced to hang for having stolen a tunic at gunpoint. Rembrandt being in charge of immortalizing this dissection, which would later be one of the most important artistic paintings.
It is important to mention that Dr. Nicolaes Tulp was the main anatomist of the city of Amsterdam and a public dissection could only be performed once a year, so it was done in winter with the intention that the cold could preserve the body. human.
As you have already seen in this article on the artistic work Anatomy Lesson by Dr Nicolaes Tulp, anatomical dissection classes were a great show in the XNUMXth century, so they were held in large places such as the amphitheater.
Where not only medical students attended, but also the general public who paid a special contribution to be closer to the operating table.
This group portrait anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp was no exception alongside medical eminence Jacob Block, Hartman Hartmanszoon, Adriaen Slabran, Jacob de Witt, Mathijs Kalkoen, Frans van Loenen and Jacob Koolvelt are seen.
It is said that this last participant, who is in profile to the left of the Anatomy Lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, was a last-minute addition, so Rembrandt drew him in that space as if he were cornered on the canvas.
These characters as they are written can be found on the list that one of the participants in the group portrait in the form of a book by Rembrandt carries, they were the ones who canceled to appear next to Dr Tulp as if it were a photograph of the present that you can observe by the social network or television media.
Rembrandt signed all his paintings, as can be seen in the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, one of his favorites was the portrait. In addition, Dr Tulp was a medical eminence since 1628 and held the position of Prelector Anatomie.
It is translated into Spanish as First Anatomist represented the surgeons, so he was in charge of carrying out dissections in the public sphere so that the population could learn in a didactic way about what the human body was like inside.
The brotherhood of surgeons of the city of Amsterdam only allowed one public dissection to be carried out annually and Dr. Tulp was part of this exclusive group. In addition, the body to be studied had to belong to an inmate. This study was carried out in the Waag, which was the theater. of anatomy for that historical moment.
So the anatomy lesson painting by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp was made on January 16, 1632, then he made another commission in 1656 known as the anatomy lesson by Doctor Joan Deijman where the dissection of the cadaver's brain is performed.
Curious facts about the artistic work
This artistic work was made in oil on a canvas whose dimensions are 169,5 centimeters high and 216,5 centimeters wide. It is located in the Mauritshuis in the city of The Hague in the Netherlands. It is the first group portrait that Rembrandt performs.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp is a large group painting and something similar had only been done by the artist Thomas de Keyser in the year 1619.
For the year 1828, it was decided by the Surgeons' Widows Fund to sell the anatomy lesson work of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, but King William I himself prevented the sale of the painting, so he ordered its purchase, the artistic painting belonging to his royal cabinet of paintings.
Due to technology, it is observed through X-ray studies that the anatomy lesson table of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp was restored several times, in addition, the dissected arm is longer than the right, perhaps with the intention of magnifying the medical event.
It also presents an error regarding the anatomical study since the superficial flexor muscle is not inserted inside the humerus as it was painted by the artist and regarding the right hand it is different, which infers that it was painted after observing to another model.
According to the studies of the time, in this image of the anatomy lesson work by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, the trainer who was in charge of preparing the body for the anatomy class is missing.
Well, in the XNUMXth century, a medical eminence of the stature of Dr Tulp was not in charge of work related to blood, but rather it was a function of the trainer, that is why these instruments are not observed in the artistic work.
Instead of observing those instruments, the anatomy book is placed as a reference. Another curious fact is the accuracy with which Rembrandt painted the muscles and tendons when he was barely twenty-six years old and it is assumed that he copied the details of the great anatomy work of Vesalius.
Regarding the corpse of the work, Rembrandt painted it alluding to the dead Christ with respect to the face of the corpse, a shadow is evident to exemplify the threshold mortis or the shadow of death, a technique that was very characteristic of this artist in his paintings. .
Another interesting fact regarding the anatomy lesson work of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is the signature and date in the upper right corner of the canvas where Rembrandt can be seen: 1632.
Which he places on a poster that can be seen at the back of the wall, it is said that this work was repainted in the XNUMXth century, annexing the list for the characters that appear in the group portrait, but it was later eliminated, although the heads of the participants still appear. they can evidence the number they occupied in said list.
It is the first work that the artist signs with his first name instead of the initials RHL that refer to Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden, demonstrating great confidence in his art.
Conclusion
It is the first group portrait made by Rembrandt where it represents the dissection of the left forearm of a prisoner sentenced to hang. The autopsy is carried out by a XNUMXth-century medical eminence, Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.
In the artistic work Anatomy Lesson by Dr Nicolaes Tulp, the wisdom of the Supreme is evidenced by creating a body as perfect as that of the human being.
One of the qualities of this pictorial work is how the participants of the work are structured as if it were a theatrical activity and not in a row.
Therefore, in this group portrait, the action of the movement in the dissection carried out by the doctor is observed, in addition to the talk that he demonstrates through the semblance of his face, where he demonstrates full confidence in what he is doing.
It is observed that the light of the work illuminates the corpse in addition to the clamp and the tendons of the forearm, contrasting with the coldness of the inert body of the sentenced person who is the object of study and the warmth that emanates from the faces of the participants in said autopsy.
Rembrandt was a painter who managed to capture emotion in the eyes of the characters he portrayed in his paintings, which showed the interior of the human being in the gaze.
The author had a facility for playing with colors, one of his main characteristics being the illuminated areas through golden shadows, transmitting an unparalleled atmosphere through the sources of light that he captured in his artistic works.
In addition to the anatomy lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, other great works can be observed, such as the skinned ox, scenes with a great religious meaning and it is demonstrated in the Sacrifice of Isaac.
Likewise, Rembrandt's famous self-portraits stand out, as well as the portraits he made of Saskia, his wife, and their son Titus, without forgetting the Night Watch, which is said to be his masterpiece.
About the Author
This great artist distinguishes himself from Italian painting, although in his first artistic paintings elements belonging to tenebrism are evident, but he gives his own stamp when making group portraits.
Being a Rembrandt proposal allowing to paint the Dutch bourgeoisie that was according to history in a remarkable economic ascent.
An example of this is Rembrandt himself, who came from an economically well-off family where he was given the resources to study painting.
He was the eighth child of this household with the intention of learning art, he moved to the city of Amsterdam. At nineteen years of age he already had his own workshop in addition to having an excellent clientele.
His economic life was ascendant but because of an investment that did not work in the East Indies Rembrandt was practically in ruins his wife dies so he falls into depression.
A year before the painter died, his only Titus died, this great artist of the Golden Age of the Netherlands died alone and sunk in misery.
The artist Rembrandt died in the city of Amsterdam on October 04, 1669. He was sixty-three years old and is one of the representatives of Baroque art.
In terms of painting and engraving, he was also the most important painter in the Netherlands. His success accompanied him from youth and his last years of the life of this great artist were clouded by personal tragedy as well as economic decline.
Rembrandt demonstrated great achievements in the portraits he made of his contemporaries in addition to his famous self-portraits and illustrations of biblical and medical scenes such as the anatomy lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.
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