<p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline"><a href="http://www.maitrise-orthop.com/corpusmaitri/orthopaedic/86_masquelet/masqueletus.shtml">http://www.maitrise-orthop.com/corpusmaitri/orthopaedic/86_masquelet/masqueletus.shtml</a></span></p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline"> </span></p><p>                Rembrandt (1606-1669) is considered to be “… one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods and dramatic guises” (Britannica). Rembrandt was a true pioneer in the art form of painting creating masterful portraits of him and others whom he encountered. One of his most well known portraits is <em>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp </em>(1632) and in this masterful painting, Rembrandt captures the image of one of the first anatomy lessons taught at the Amsterdam’s Surgeons Guild. <em>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp </em>is a true testament to the brilliance of Rembrandt with his profound ability to use shade and light. The shading in the painting allows for Rembrandt to focus the attention of the painting to the faces of the students and the body of the cadaver. For the historical significance to be made from one of the first public anatomy lessons spurring from the time of renaissance in Europe, Rembrandts <em>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp </em>should be preserved for future generations.</p><p>          Rembrandt was of Dutch descent and is revered in the Dutch community as a fore founder of Dutch artwork, “In 17th-century Holland, group portraits were an immensely popular genre - they were a social institution, the symbol of an up-and-coming middle class.” (Masquelet) The Dutch are a proud people and “After thirty years of war to shake off the Spanish yoke, the seven northern provinces, including Holland, had gained their independence and established their right to trade freely.” (Masquelet) This was a time of great fortune for the Dutch people as trade with the West Indies became extremely lucrative for their economy. “In 1650, the annual yield of the shares in the two India Companies was 500%. Following their meteoric rise to fortune, the burghers of Amsterdam lived well, and loved to see their life reflected in art” (Masquelet).</p><p>          The 1600s are associated with being the Baroque era, “Taken literally, the term means "irregular" and is applied generally to the dynamic and undisciplined artistic creativity of the seventeenth century”(HWI). Originating in Italy and spreading north throughout all of Europe the Dutch painters”… perfected their own characteristic style, which grew directly from their pride in political and commercial accomplishments and emphasized the beauty of local nature and the solidity of middle class life” (HWI). Rembrandt was head and shoulders above the rest of his Dutch counterparts as “… he produced works so universally human that they not only expressed Dutch cultural values but also transcended them.”(HWI)</p><p>          Before Rembrandt became a world-renown painter, “From approximately 1620 to 1624/25, Rembrandt trained as an artist. As was quite common in his time, he had two masters in succession” (Britannica). Rembrandt was initially taught by Jacob van Swanenburgh (1571–1638) who “…was a specialist in architectural pieces and in scenes of hell and the underworld…”(Britannica). Thus leading scholars to believe this is where Rembrandt learned his great ability for the portrayal of light in his paintings. <br />           The painting consists of Dr. Tulp conducting an anatomy lesson at the Amsterdam’s Surgeons guild with seven surgeons taking place in the lesson. At the time of the painting, the guild was only allowed one human dissection per year. The body being dissected was that of “A man called Aris Kindt [who] had been hanged for armed robbery” (Masquelet). The portrait depicts all of the characters in the lessons with all having different facial expressions. The ability for Rembrandt to bring out the expressions, mood, and attitudes of the scholars was very inventive at the time. The lesson itself is in question in the portrait as many have been led to believe that the lesson took place solely for the taking of the portrait. Stating that, “... Tulp wanted to show a phenomenon of particular interest to him, without going through all the usual stages of a teaching dissection” (Masquelet). This is also a phenomenon with the painting as no dissecting tools are shown, nor is the actual coroner pictured in the portrait either.</p><p>          Rembrandt’s painting was extremely unique at its time, as the subject of the painting and the way it was painted were all relatively new to the 17<sup>th</sup> century. During the 17<sup>th</sup> century people weren’t regularly educated on anatomy; even the university level anatomists weren’t aware of all the human organs themselves. The painting depicts a changing time in the world of science, technology, and religion. By the faces of the surgeons being introduced to the human body we are able to experience the intensity of the lesson in the painting. The painting is a group portrait which was a rising theme at the time of Rembrandts painting <em>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp</em>. Art has not always been a sign of wealth, but during the time of the renaissance; being portrayed in a group portrait was considered to be high society. “The leading citizens would pay - and often pay very handsomely - for the privilege of being included in official group portraits“ (Masquelet). Often times then not, other artists may or may not use actual people in the paintings of a group. Nicolas Poussin’s <em>Triumph of David </em>, depicts David as he rejoices in his victory over the giant goliath.</p><p>          Nicolas Poussin’s <em>Triumph of David  </em>is not<em> </em>a typical a group portrait as it uses religious creatures to portray a religious event. The painting lacks any real detail into the faces of the characters as the painting is trying to express the joy him and his family felt from the victory over goliath. Rembrandt’s anatomy lesson was an actual recreation of an event than had taken place in front of his eyes. The difference in the undertones of the painting is remarkable as most painters would stick to religious artwork to help fund themselves through church funded projects. The Triumph of David is a great painting as it has a great a religious context to it and the painting itself is a masterpiece. Rembrandts has no overlying religious meaning to it and he is able to capture the moment as he was actually there to witness the lesson. This helped make Rembrandts painting so vivid and lively, he uses shading and lighting to bring about life and death. Which is attempted in the painting by Poussin but there are so many different things going on at once it is hard to get the centralized view of the painting. With the anatomy lesson there is an obvious centralized focus point and that is of the corpse and Dr. Tulp.</p><p>Poussin and Rembrandt were both remarkable painters and should be glorified for their contributions to the world of art. Poussin is able to recall a great time in history when the Great goliath is defeated by David. I feel like Rembrandt is able to recall an even more monumental event in history which is the study of anatomy. Anatomy is the study of the human body, and with it we are able to gain insights into ourselves and create medicine and other medical advances through the study of anatomy. Rembrandt captures a moment in time, where as Poussin recreates what he thinks the event would have looked like. This was typical of Dutch art at the time as he tried to paint life as real and simple as it was. We see the brilliance of light in the anatomy lesson to express the difference in death and life that contrasts with the corpse face with the face of the surgeons. In Poussin’s painting we see this to an effect with the painting of Goliath’s face on the stake next to David.  </p><p>At the time of Rembrandts painting, there weren’t very many like it at all. The sheer quality he was able to put into the painting is remarkable, “Indeed, the artist’s concern with movement makes this painting the epitome of 17th-century European thinking: movement was central to the ideas of Descartes, Gassendi, Galileo, Leibniz, Newton - and Rembrandt“ (Masquelet). His painting was revered by all to be a masterpiece and a great recreation of the actual anatomy lesson.</p><p>In today’s time the portrait still receives accolades and is still well known for being a brilliant group portrait. “The picture still impresses us today by the dramatic concentration of the figures on Tulp's demonstration of the dissection of a forearm” (WGA). The photo will still hold significance for being able to recount one of the first public anatomy lessons to be held in the world today. Anatomy lessons are not conducted in the same manner today as they were then. With the ability to create fake bodies for classrooms and images of the human body, there aren’t anymore dead bodies to be analyzed for public viewing as there are human rights laws against this practice. I think the painting would have received a positive reception as Dr. Tulp is dissecting the body for scientific purposes and not just for pure evil fun. The painting even depicts this as ”… the Doctor himself defines the mood as clinical, in both senses, and thus shapes the attitude towards death as to a matter of fact occurrence, which should be dealt with scientifically…” (Art Critique).  Today we wouldn’t have any problem with the painting if it were for scientific reasons although there is always a group who will oppose anything.</p><p>I personally find this painting to be very good, for its ability to depict an image of a real life event, and for the complexity of the shading performed by Rembrandt. The effects that are seen within this painting deal with the direct contrast between life and death. Rembrandt highlights the corpses body to contrast the black robes of the surgeons with its illuminated appearance. Although he uses a bit of shading of the corpse’s face to depict the lifelessness of the face and give off the inevitable stillness of death. The way that Rembrandt paints the surgeons faces is of particular amusement to me, as some surgeons seem to be bored or not interested, and there are others who are enthralled by the dissection and are paying very close attention the body. The face of the doctor is directed out towards an audience which would have paid money to see the dissection of the corpse. I would love to pay money to see a human body examined as we are not able to regularly go and pay for a body to be dissected every year.</p><p>Although there was previous anatomy lessons that had taken place prior to the dissection of Aris Kindt. This was painted and exposed to the public, this wasn’t your typical dissection as they are claimed to start with the chest first as the lungs would perish fast along with the stomach. Rembrandt has used light to illuminate the portrait like no other group portrait had been created before. He was apart of a new era and a new style, and he created a style all his own. He was a master of light in paintings, and many painters followed in his footsteps to try and recreate life like images. He is able to capture movement and emotion in his painting and really let loose some of the true ideas of Renaissance. Rembrandts <em>The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp </em>definitely deserves to be preserved in our Space Musuem as it will serve as an artistic guide to future civilizations as well as a historical guide as well.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p align="center">WORKS CITED</p><p>"<strong>The</strong> <strong>Anatomy</strong> <strong>Lesson</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Dr</strong>. <strong>Nicolaes</strong> <strong>Tulp</strong>." <em>Encyclopedia Britannica.  Encyclopedia Britannica Online Academic Edition</em>. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2011. &lt;<a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/23096/The-Anatomy-Lesson-of-Dr-Nicolaes-Tulp">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/23096/The-Anatomy-Lesson-of-Dr-Nicolaes-Tulp</a>&gt;.</p><p>This website was used for my initial knowledge of Rembrandt the person.</p><p>Masquelet, A.C. "REMBRANDT’S ANATOMY LESSON OF PROFESSOR NICOLAES TULP." <em>Maitrise Orthopedique</em>. Hôpital Avicenne - F-93009 Bobigny, September 2009. Web. 11 Oct 2011. &lt;http://www.maitrise-orthop.com/corpusmaitri/orthopaedic/86_masquelet/masqueletus.shtml&gt;.</p><p>This website provided an artistic analaysis and critique of the painting</p><p>Various, Authors. "The Baroque Erain the Arts." <em>History-World</em>. History World International, n.d. Web. 11 Oct 2011. &lt;http://history-world.org/baroque_era.htm&gt;.</p><p>This website provided me with information about the baroque era</p><p>Kren, Emil, and Daniel Marx. "REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn." <em>Web Gallery of Art</em>. Web Gallery Of Art, n.d. Web. 11 Oct 2011. &lt;http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/rembran/painting/group/anatomy.html&gt;.</p><p>This website gave me information about the painting and some artistic critique into the painting.</p><p>"Triumph of David." Photograph. <em>Art Gallery Religious</em>. Nicolas Poussin. Madrid: Lib-Art, 1627-30. Web. 11 Oct 2011. &lt;http://www.lib-art.com/artgallery/15429-the-triumph-of-david-nicolas-poussin.html&gt;.</p><p>This is the website I used for the comparison photo, Triumph of David</p><p>"Rembrandt: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp." <em>Art &amp; Critique</em>. Art &amp; Critique, 08 12 2007. Web. 11 Oct 2011. &lt;http://artandcritique.com/rembrandt-the-anatomy-lesson-of-dr-nicolaes-tulp/&gt;.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>