A Short Lesson on Anatomy Lessons

Often in Dutch art, folks will see paintings titled "The Anatomy Lesson of..." Generally, these are made as portraits--and even more often guild portraits--of anatomy guilds that, like other guilds of the time, display them in their halls to celebrate their illustrious members.

One of the most famous is Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp:

Rembrandt van Rijn, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholaes Tulp, 1632, Mauritshuis, The Hague

I saw this one in person and it was extremely awkard to behold, seeing as though the foreshortening and general proportions (due to faulty perspective) were off. But my hypothesis is that this is because it would have normally (in a guild hall) been displayed higher up on the wall than it was at the Mauritshuis.

What Dr. Tulp is doing is not far from what people tend to do when they get fresh crab at the beach--he is pulling on a tendon to made the hand move, just like you can with crab claws. *pinch, pinch*

Another popular one is the AL of Dr. Ruysch, a guy best known for preserving specimens of human anatomy and creating bizarre tableaux of them, including these jolly fetuses.

Jan van Neck, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Frederick Ruysch, 1683, Amsterdams Historisch Museum

My latter comment might explain why his son looks scared shitless.

And, you know, all the other creepy things going on in the picture.

But my personal favorite is less known:

Michiel van Mierevelt, The Anatomy Lesson of Willem van der Meer, 1617, Stedelijk Museum Het Prinsenhof, Delft

It's my favorite because of its amazing detail. Firstly, all of the beholders are carrying little sprigs of herbs and incense to stave off the smell of the body. And the innards themselves are gleaming in an otherwordly, almost fishy manner. Well, maybe I'll just show you some of my pictures: