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The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp

Name: Provenio Provenance Knowledge Graph
License: https://provenio.art/terms

Oil on canvas (1632) by Rembrandt van Rijn, depicting Amsterdam surgeon Dr. Nicolaes Tulp demonstrating the musculature of the arm to a group of guild members. Rembrandt's first major commission in Amsterdam. Held at the Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Scholarly Significance

Rembrandt's breakthrough group portrait commission, combining the civic portrait tradition with scientific demonstration.

Notes

·Commissioned by the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons in 1632; Rembrandt was 25 years old.
·The cadaver being dissected is identified as the executed criminal Aris Kindt.
·Dr. Tulp demonstrates the flexor digitorum superficialis of the left forearm.
·Signed 'Rembrant f 1632' — an early spelling of the artist's name.
·Transferred to the Mauritshuis upon its establishment as a royal museum in 1828.