Above is a work of the Baroque era titled The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, which depicts the dissection of a male cadaver on a wooden table. There are seven onlooking men on the left side of the composition, dressed in dark robes with white ruffs on their collars. The cadaver lies on a wooden table in the center, wearing only a white cloth on his gaunt white skin. His left arm is stripped and flayed down the elbow, with forceps manipulating the muscle fibers of the inner forearm. Operating the forceps on the right is Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, clad in black with white cuffs, collar and a wide-brimmed black hat.
The work has an undoubtedly dramatic composition, utilizing chiaroscuro, or a polarizing contrast between shadow and light. The men's complexions are blushed pink with life, which serves to contrast against the corpse of the dead man in front of them. The posture and expressions of the men are life-like and dramatically exaggerated in the atmosphere. The subject of the white cadaver is emphasized as the central point of the artwork.
In my personal interpretation, this painting speaks on the lines of morality and morbidity. Tulp himself seems absentminded, as if he was not dealing with an instrument to a human body, but a pointer to a chalkboard. The physicians each show their own unique reaction to the body. From the center closest to the body we can see a man leaning over the head of the corpse, attentive to the lecture but at the same time arched over it, as if he is uncomfortable to touch it. To the left of him a physician is holding his hand to his chest in disgust and curiosity. Further on above them are men trying to keep their distance. The two men in the back look at the viewer, one with concern or perhaps pity, and the other with a neutral expression. On the left in the foreground, the physician is similarly side-eyeing the viewer either in disgust of the body in front of him or perhaps of the viewer. Finally, the physician on the far left looks directly at Dr. Tulp, as if avoiding looking at the body entirely. With the context of the piece, I believe that the painting is meant to include the viewer as part of the audience in attendance of the anatomical theatre, with the same tension as witnessing it firsthand. The men in the back are reading the audience's reaction to the central subject, which consists of horror in the morbidity of human death, and curiosity and excitement in the name of science.
Expansion of Scientific Knowledge
Rembrandt van Rijn was commissioned in Amsterdam by Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, praelector of the prestigious Amsterdam Surgeon's Guild to commemorate one of the doctor's public anatomy lectures in January of 1632. These lectures, and paintings of their documentation, were commonly practiced by the guild in anatomy theatres where a viewing of the body would take place over several days. The dissections were majority attended by medical students and physicians, but the public was able to attend the viewing for a fee. Anatomical theatres were a way to educate and spread anatomical knowledge.
These public exhibitions are exemplary of the greater expansion of scientific knowledge that was pursued during the Baroque Era. About a decade prior to Rembrandt's commission, English scientist and politician Sir Francis Bacon devised the scientific method, based on testing hypotheses and observing controlled variables, which we still use today. Also alive during this time was astronomer Galileo Galilei, who was famously persecuted by the Catholic Church for discovering that the Earth revolves around the Sun.
Comparison with the Renaissance
The biggest difference by far however are the subject matters; The Creation of Adam is a religious and spiritual work, while The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is scientific and macabre.
Baroque and Renaissance are divided by their religious and cultural differences. The Renaissance's works were highly reflective of Catholicism, especially commissioned directly by the church itself. During the Baroque era when Rembrandt painted The Anatomy Lesson of Nicolaes Tulp, Holland was majority Protestant. If we compare the subject of anatomical study in the Renaissance we can observe inventor and scientist Leonardo Da Vinci. He underwent major studies of the human body, and meticulously documented anatomical diagrams in his journals. Despite being historically recognized and celebrated today for his works, during his time he had to conduct his studies of cadavers in secret as it was made illegal by the Catholic Church's beliefs. The suppression of scientific study would be continuously evident in the trials of Galileo Galilei by the church. In Rome, it was socially stigmatized and illegal, while in Amsterdam, doctors like Nicolaes Tulp could conduct studies openly, even as social events.
In the transition of these eras, we can compare art used to express spirituality in religious depictions in the Renaissance to the more physically ground subjects that art expanded into in the Baroque era.
References
Chiaroscuro. 2014. The National Gallery. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/glossary/chiaroscuro. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. 1512. Musei Vaticani, Vatican City. https://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/cappella-sistina/volta/storie-centrali/creazione-di-adamo.html#lnav_info. Accessed on Oct. 13 2022.
Rembrandt van Rijn. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. 1632. Mauritshuis, Den Haag, Netherlands. https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/artworks/146-the-anatomy-lesson-of-dr-nicolaes-tulp/. Accessed on Oct. 13 2022.
Sooke, Alistair. Leonardo da Vinci’s groundbreaking anatomical sketches. 21 Oct. 2014. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130828-leonardo-da-vinci-the-anatomist. Accessed on Oct. 13 2022.
Wolford, Kathryn. Francis Bacon and the scientific revolution. 2014. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-art1/beginners-guide-baroque1/a/francis-bacon-and-the-scientific-revolution. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
Zygmont, Bryan. Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp. 8 Aug. 2015. Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/rembrandt-anatomy-lesson-of-dr-tulp/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2022.
Hello Lee! Reading your blog made me reflect on how fortunate we are to have all these resources and knowledge that previous inventors and pioneers passed on, like Gallileo Galilei, who greatly influenced modern science. Unfortunately, people didn't want to hear him out about his telescopic discoveries, and he died under house arrest because he was accused of his theories. Nevertheless, I admire his eagerness to learn more and that he continues to do experiments while in confinement.
ReplyDeleteRembrandt's painting is interesting because it depicts the early studies of human dissection. The physician's reaction shows that they are very intrigued because dissecting muscles from a cadaver is unusual during those days. Around that period, it is not entirely accepted by the church and was still considered a taboo in other countries. Thank you for sharing!
https://www.biography.com/news/galileo-discoveries-theories-modern-physics-astronomy
Hello Lee, your post was very informative and allowed me to have a better understanding of the painting. The way Rembrandt van Rijn utilizes chiaroscuro to contrast between shadow and light is amazing. The way each physician is showing emotion in response to the lesson being taught is great to speculate on. Great post!
ReplyDelete'The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp' was a painting I was originally considering writing about as well. The scene depicted is very original unique for the era. I also like the colors and shading in the painting; while it contains the tenebrism the baroque era is famous for, it's not as extreme as other paintings. The background still includes details instead of just being blacked out to emphasize the content matter. The reds and yellows of the dissected cadaver contrast greatly with the rest of the painting, which is strictly shades of white, gray, and brown. I think it's interesting that the painting doesn't come off as incredibly dramatic to me. It seems simply academic, even though the darkness tries to suggest otherwise. Another bit I find interesting is that every man in the painting has Van Dyke-style facial hair, which is fitting for the era, but just stuck out to me.
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