
by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632
Rembrandt van Rijn painted this group portrait in 1632, showing Dr. Nicolaes Tulp demonstrating arm anatomy to a group of Amsterdam surgeons. The corpse lies on the dissection table, its left arm opened to reveal muscles and tendons. Seven observers lean in, their faces illuminated against the dark background.
The cadaver was Aris Kindt, a thief hanged for stealing a winter coat on January 31, 1632. His body was given to the surgeons' guild for their annual public anatomy lesson. Rembrandt was just 25 or 26 when he received this commission, but he already showed notable ability to arrange multiple figures and capture psychological intensity.
The painting established Rembrandt's reputation as a portraitist in Amsterdam. Several of the surgeons paid to be included, and their intense attention to the demonstration makes the scene feel like a witnessed event rather than a posed picture. It hangs at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
The painting that established Rembrandt's reputation as a master portraitist at age 26.
Other masterpieces from the Baroque movement

Frans Hals, 1624
Wallace Collection, London
Johannes Vermeer, 1666
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Johannes Vermeer, 1665
Mauritshuis, The Hague

El Greco, 1614
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Johannes Vermeer, 1670
Louvre, Paris, Paris

Johannes Vermeer, 1664
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Johannes Vermeer, 1663
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Diego Velázquez, 1650
National Gallery, London
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