The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt

Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is considered a masterpiece and is a group portrait of the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons in the form of an anatomy lesson. Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, Doctor of Medicine and Praelector Anatomiae to the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons, showed an anatomic dissection of a forearm on the corpse of an executed criminal.

Doctor Nicolas Tulp, Amsterdam's top surgeon, a world­renowned man of learning who presides each year over the ceremony of a public lesson is situated at the far right of a group of seven doctors, his audience, arranged in a pyramid.

The corpse is placed diagonally in the painting. All the onlookers, but one, are engrossed in the actual dissection and do not stare at the painter – unlike the norm for this type of painting. The painting, dated 1632 should be placed within the tradition of anatomy paintings from the Guild, which began in 1601 and extended far into the 18th century. s. It is often regarded as simply a group portrait of the Surgeons’ Guild in Amsterdam.

The painting is considered a masterpiece because Rembrandt seemingly created a realistic representation of an anatomy lesson and abandoned the traditional formal and stiff arrangement of figures.

From a surgeon’s point of view there are clear indications that Rembrandt fully understood Dr Tulp’s lecture and that his picture presents an accurate demonstration of the functional anatomy of the superficial flexors of the fingers.
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt

The Night Watch by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn

The famous Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn was born at the 15th of July 1606 in the Dutch village of Leyden. It is known that he first visited a Latin school afterward she matriculated at the University of Leiden. His father owned a mill and his mother was the daughter of a baker. This means, that like most Dutch artists, Rembrandt came from the lower middle class, but contrary to popular belief, Rembrandt did not live a life of poverty.

The Night Watch is one of his most famous works. Painted in 1642, it epitomizes the height of Dutch culture and art during its golden age. "The Night Watch" (painted when Rembrandt was only 36 years old) is considered the masterpiece of Rembrandt. The painting was known as Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenhurch, after the people who were depicted in the painting and their profession. But not until the late 18th century it was started to called Night Watch.

The Night Watch shows a company of militia officers gathering for a procession in a ceremonial role. These men can be identified as Guild members of the Klovenierdoelen, an Amsterdamer Shooting Company, established in 1520. In the center of the painting a captain dressed in black and his lieutenant in lemon yellow. The canvas is buzzing of activity and creates a atmosphere of excitement by the contrasts between light and dark, shiny and dull colors and a high variety of positions, gestures and facial expressions.
The Night Watch by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn