Rembrandt van Rijn was renowned as one of the most talented Dutch painter of his time, and The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632) is an example of his remarkably innovative style. Born in Leiden, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631; there his career thrived and his portraits, in particular, were in high demand from the city’s elite, who had grown wealthy through extensive trading and colonization. Here, he records a dissection by the noted physician Dr. Tulp, with various members of the surgeon’s guild observing. In the seventeenth century, dissections were a form of public entertainment, but only the body of a criminal could be dismembered; Dr. Tulp works on the corpse of a man who had been executed the day before for stealing a coat. Some scholars believe that this painting was commissioned in order to promote the merit of Amsterdam’s doctors. To demonstrate his proficiency, Dr. Tulp is depicted exposing the tendons that move the thumb and forefinger, because the arm was believed to be the most difficult to dissect. The anatomy textbook in the shadows on the lower right bears an image of a famous sixteenth-century doctor, Andreas Vesalius, in a similar act, thus identifying Tulp as the eminent doctor’s heir. This painting, which was produced at the beginning of Rembrandt’s career, reveals his ability to depart from artistic convention and produce works that are animated and naturalistic. Whereas most contemporary group portraits portrayed the figures in a horizontal line spread evenly across the canvas, Rembrandt grouped the observers in a pyramidical form on the left side. Each of the figures paid to be included and this painting was meant to glorify each as a learned and distinguished member of middle class society. They are all given individual attention, with a unique pose and facial expression, and each of the heads is on a different level, thus giving a sense of spontaneity. The event’s naturalism is enhanced by the fact that the figures mostly stare at the corpse, instead of out at the viewer ...