Art > Rembrandt, Harmenszoon van Rijn: Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp

Rembrandt, Harmenszoon van Rijn: Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (1632, Mauritshuis, The Hague) Oil on canvas

This work is a group-portrait, depicting Dr. Tulp giving anatomy lesson. The Doctor is standing behind the dead body and being surrounded by seven viewers, some of them are probably doctors. Just like these viewers, we are active participant of the lecture, being part of the audience. These lectures were open to the public.

The corp is the center of the picture, we immediately focus on his pale skin tone. It seems that the whole body is glowing, except the head, which is shadowed by a person leaning towards. Comparing to the living on the painting , their faces are bright, and the ruffs around their neck, but the clothing’s are black. Doctor Tulp is separated from the viewers by a huge black hat and he is on the right side of the picture. With his right hand he is pulling a muscle of the dead man’s arm, and the Doctor is also showing the same effect on his left hand.

The foreground is two viewers on the left and the dead body , lying on the table. The middle ground is two more viewers on the left and the Doctor on the right. We see three more persons on the left of the background and the remainings are shadows.

As of an early work of Rembrandt, we clearly can see the influence of Caravaggio. The strong contrast of the skin tones and the clothes are a perfect example of tenebroso technique, the use of extreme darks and lights.

The composition is diagonal as the dead body placed. But only him staying stiff-for a good reason. The onlookers’ positioning is suggesting great movement. Every single of them standing differently, looking in a different direction. If you follow their gaze, it is really moving around and even out of the picture. Their faces express wild variety of emotion from fascination, excitement to fright. The pyramidal composition first used by Leonardo Da Vinci is now greatly improved. Here we can see a double pyramidal form, suggesting not only three-dimensional place, but movement. The first pyramid, on the left build up by the body of the dead and the Doctor’s figure. The second pyramid attached to this one is on the upper right side of the picture, build up by the onlookers.

The 17th century was the Golden Age of Amsterdam and the Northern Provinces. After thirty years of war, the Provinces gained their independence and established the right to trade freely. Most of the nation were Protestant, which had a different influence on art, than it did with countries of Catholic belief. Protestant churches banned decoration.

There were still artists exploring religious themes, especially Rembrandt. Because of the lack of commissions from the prosperous church, the main subjects in the 17th century’s Dutch painting’s were non-religious, genre scenes. The middle class of Amsterdam lived well, and commissioned group portraits, portraits, still life, landscape and other genre paintings, which provided a good living for artist.

Rembrandt summarized the thinking of the 17th century, where movement was a central idea.

 

 

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