Rembrandt Harmenszoon 'And The Gross Clinic'

n this essay, I will be comparing the similarities and contrasting the differences between two works of art. The first work is The Anatomy Lesson by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, more commonly known just as Rembrandt. This work of art is an oil painting on canvas. The second work of art is The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins, which is also an oil painting on canvas. These two works of art both portray a main motif of a surgery showing anatomy. Rembrandt’s painting of The Anatomy Lesson (full title The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp) is an oil painting on canvas. This painting is of an anatomy lesson in a surgical theatre. Realistic in style, this painting shows very good details in the faces of the people looking on as well as extremely fine details in the muscle and ligaments in the interior of the arm. Rembrandt’s attention to detail brings out the realism in the painting. The faces of the people look real not only due to their facial expressions, but their beards that look real due to Rembrandt’s skill in detail. The detail on the hairs of the men is very well done and looks real.
This painting, done in 1632, is of the physician Nicolaes Tulp.
According to Museum Het Rembrandthuis (cite online source), a leading physician of the Guild of Physicians would, twice a week, give anatomy lessons. Once a year, there would be a public autopsy. This would take place during the winter so the body would not smell very bad due to the heat and decomposition. These public autopsies would be performed on a criminal usually, and in Rembrandt’s painting, the subject was Adriaen het Kint. Adriaen was arrested for armed robbery, and he was hung by rope till death. His sentence being served, the public dissection was performed by Dr. Tulp. Rembrandt was in the crowd and captured this moment in time of Dr. Tulp showing the interior of the arm with a group of gentlemen immediately around the
table. Rembrandt painted oil on canvas for this art piece. He decided to paint the anatomy lesson on the foreground as to showcase it for the viewer. As compared to Rembrandt’s other paintings and works, this piece is not symmetrical. Shading and shadows on the surroundings and the characters creates depth. The body on the table pops and stands out to the viewers due to it being a pasty white in contrast to the black outfits of the surgeons. Rembrandt’s painting is very well put together and “captures the men in a specific instant in time.” (source) Eakins’s painting is of a similar subject, but composed much differently. Eakins’s The Gross Clinic is also of a public dissection. The main focus of the painting is Dr. Samuel Gross. The crowd of this painting shows a much different atmosphere as opposed to Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson. In this painting, the audience members include the surgeons immediately around the cadaver, but also some of the members of the general public looking on from the stands. During the direct contrast part coming up, this will be talked about in more detail. The style of painting is oil on canvas, and the painting itself is 8 feet by 6.5 feet. Eakins’s realistic portrayal of the public dissection shocked many of its viewer who had never seen such a gruesome subject matter. Dr. Gross is “operating on the left thigh of the patient,” though the exact position of the body is very hard to read. (cite source twice) Both of the paintings feature the same subject matter, a public dissection, but they do so in very unique and separate ways. There are some very striking differences between the two paintings. Perhaps the biggest difference is the way the art pieces look. Rembrandt’s painting has bright faces, very similarly colored beards on each of the men, and overall is a very bright painting. Eakins’s painting is much darker in comparison. Just by looking at the two side by side, the viewer can see that Eakins gave much more individuality to the characters. Dr. Gross stands out better than Dr. Tulp, even though his face does not contrast as much with the dark background. Another major difference is that, while both artists were first hand witnesses of the dissections, Eakins handled it differently than Rembrandt. Eakins was trying to make a name for himself, so he wanted to showcase himself in his own artwork. He painted himself into the painting and can be seen sketching the scene behind Dr. Gross’s right shoulder. Eakins also made himself stand out from the other audience members. This is due to the lighting effect and the way he used shadows to make himself pop out and be seen. Rembrandt’s painting was much more different. He was present for the dissection, but he did not paint himself into the painting. Also, unlike Rembrandt, Eakins also painted the mother of the victim into the painting. She can be seen directly below Eakins to the left of Dr. Gross’s right hand. Dr. Gross’s right hand also shows another major difference between Eakins and Rembrandt. Eakins painted the scene much more realistically than Rembrandt did of his. Eakins, unlike Rembrandt, showed attention to the blood. There is blood leaking out of the cut and there is blood on Dr. Gross’s right hand from where he had been cutting into the victim. Rembrandt’s painting does not show the blood of the victim, except in the interior of the arm, but even then it is just the muscle of the body. Though they have many differences, there are a few similarities in the paintings. Most notably, they are both painted oil on canvas, so the medium is the same.