Rembrandt van Rijn's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp

This portrait was called Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn. It was painted in 1632 and it was oil on canvas technique. In Rembrandt’s portrait, more movements are visible and his subjects are not evenly spread across the portrait while in Hals's painting subjects are fixed and spread across the canvas. In this portrait, a group of observers or students are gathered on side of the painting. It is very different from Hals' painting style. In the center, Dr. Tulp, physician, is dissecting a human corpse and teaching the students. Instead of typical traditional portraiture of horizontal, planar orientation, Rembrandt foreshortened the corpse and placed it diagonally. Although every observer is dressed correspondingly, they could be distinguished based on their facial expressions and body language. Observer’s attributes implies the varying degree of concentration paid on the lesson. One of the observers is paying attention to the anatomy manual near the corpse’s feet while another observer behind Dr. Tulp is gazing toward the viewer instead of the operating table. This painting was painted by Rembrandt at a very young age and it was the innovative approach of group portraiture was remarkable and well appreciated.