The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp [SEP] collection
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. The painting is regarded as one of Rembrandt's early masterpieces.
In the work, Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is pictured explaining the musculature of the arm to medical professionals. Some of the spectators are various doctors who paid commissions to be included in the painting. The painting is signed in the top-left hand corner "Rembrandt. f[ecit
of "praelector chirugic et anatomie". The painting was damaged by fire in 1723, and only a central fragment survives.
Around 1856 Édouard Manet visited The Hague and made a small oil on panel copy of "The Anatomy Lesson". Broadly painted in a limited palette, Manet gave the painting to his physician, Dr. Siredey.
A less detailed copy of "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp" by an unknown artist hangs in Edinburgh as part of The University of Edinburgh Fine Art Collection.
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