The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, by a Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn, is surely one of the most famous paintings related to the history of medicine. This oil on canvas was painted in 1632 and it is now housed in the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague.
The main purpose of the famous Dutch painter was to celebrate the teacher and his pupils more then to give exact details of an anatomical dissection1.
Dr. Tulp is positioned on the right side of the painting. He is dressed nice, tools in hand, demonstrating the action of the muscles by lifting the tendons with his forceps, while his other hand is probably showing the movement they would produce in life.
The body is the one of a recently executed felon, Aris Kindt, whose actual name was Adriaen Adriaenszn. Rembrandt depicts him with a waxy complexion, highlighting both his physical immobility and the moral significance of his presence. The duality of a man judged by society, now transforming into a source of wisdom for the medical community. The exposed forearm of the cadaver lies as a magnet, revealing the flexor muscles and tendons.
Around Dr. Tulp, the students are assembled in a seemingly spontaneous cluster, each absorbed in a different focal point: one student looking to the dissection, one concentrating on Dr. Tulp, one resting his gaze on the forceps and one staring directly through the dimensions of art and reality in order to find the eyes of the spectator, pulling the viewer into the anatomical theatre.
- Photos by Luca Borghi ti.supmacinu|ihgrob.l#| (July 2025) and page layout by Elena Rugolo (November 2025)
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Bibliography
- Di Matteo B, Tarabella V, Filardo G, Tomba P, Viganò A, Marcacci M., “Nicolaes Tulp: The Overshadowed Subject in The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholaes Tulp”, Clin Orthop Relat Res, 2016 Jan 12, PMID: 26758442 ,
- S.A.C. Dudok van Heel, I.C.E. Wesdorp, T. Beijer, J.N. Keeman, H.A. Bosman-Jelgersma & G. Nolthenius de Man, Nicolaes Tulp: The Life and Work of an Amsterdam Physician and Magistrate in the 17th Century, Six Art Promotion, Amsterdam, 1998 (2nd ed.) .