Nicolaes tulp biography of william

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp is one of Rembrandt’s most impressive group portraits. The painting was made in , shortly after the artist’s move from the town of Leiden to Amsterdam. The surgeons’ prestigious commission provided a unique opportunity to become known among art-lovers’ circles in Amsterdam, and the painter did not allow this chance to pass. The painting firmly established Rembrandt’s name as a portraitist.

Anatomy demonstrations were held in Amsterdam from onwards. They were organised by the surgeons’ guild and in Rembrandt’s day they were held in an anatomy theatre in De Waag, Amsterdam’s weighing house. The praelector or overseer of the guild would lecture, while the public – anatomy students and laypeople alike – could watch for a fee. Anatomy lessons might last for days: the abdominal cavity and the perishable bowels would be dissected first, followed by the head and limbs. To minimise the stench, the classes were taught in the cold winter months.

Every few years a painter was commissioned to produce an anatomy piece to commemorate one of these demonstrations, perhaps following the appointment of a new praelector or the enrolment of several new members. Nicolaes Tulp () was appointed praelector in , in which capacity he gave nine public lectures between and In he had himself immortalised together with a few guild members who contributed towards the fee. The body made available for this event was that of Adriaen Adriaensz, also known as Aris Kindt, a confirmed criminal who had been sentenced to death for robbery and hanged.

Rembrandt had undoubtedly seen how his predecessors had depicted these demonstrations, since in there were three anatomy pieces (dating from , and ) hanging in the guild’s offices. Rembrandt’s group portrait is far more dynamic than any of them. He moved away from the customary horizontal, rather static grouping of the surgeons and opted for a pyramidal arrangement in which the lecturer Tulp occupies the entir

Nicolaes Tulp (October 9 September 12, ) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character.

Life

Born Claes Pieterszoon, he was the son of a prosperous merchant active in civic affairs in Amsterdam. From to he studied medicine in Leiden. When he returned to Amsterdam he became a respected doctor and married Aagfe Van der Voegh in An ambitious young man, he adopted the tulip as his family shield and changed his name to Nicolaes (a more proper version of the name Claes) Tulp. He began working on the side in local politics as city treasurer, and in , he became magistrate in Amsterdam.

Career as a Physician

The career of Dr. Tulp matched the success of Amsterdam. As the population of Amsterdam grew from 30, in to , in , Dr. Tulp's career as a doctor and politician made him a man of influence. He drove a small carriage to visit all the patients. Thanks to his connections on the city council, in Tulp was appointed Praelector Anatomiae at the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons. His wife died in the same year, leaving him with five young children. In he remarried the daughter of the mayor of Outshoorn and she bore him three children.

The praelector would give yearly anatomy lessons each winter, performing them on victims of public hanging. At that time in European cities, the dissection of bodies was only legal if the subject was a male criminal and considered outside of the Church. The dissections were performed with the consent of the city council, and were a means to collect funds for city council meetings and dinners. All council and guild members were required to attend and pay an admission fee. Throughout Europe, these dissections were attended by prominent learned men, who exchanged ideas about anatomy and the chemical processes of the human body.

As befits a new praelector, the Guild commissioned a new group portrait of the prominent councilmen and guildmasters. Rembr

Dutch surgeon and former mayor of Amsterdam

Nicolaes Tulp (9 October – 12 September ) was a Dutch surgeon and mayor of Amsterdam. Tulp was well known for his upstanding moral character and as the subject of Rembrandt's famous painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp.

Life

Born Claes Pieterszoon, he was the son of a prosperous merchant active in civic affairs in Amsterdam. From to he studied medicine in Leiden. When he returned to Amsterdam he became a respected doctor. In , he built a home at Keizersgracht , named De Tulp, and it is still standing today. In he married Aafge van der Voegh. An ambitious young man, he adopted the tulip as his heraldric emblem and changed his name to Nicolaes (a more proper version of the name Claes) Tulp. He began working in local politics as city treasurer, and in , became a magistrate in Amsterdam.

Career as a physician

The career of Tulp matched the success of Amsterdam. As the population of Amsterdam grew from 30, in to , in , Tulp's career as a doctor and politician made him a man of influence. He drove a small carriage to visit all the patients. Thanks to his connections on the city council, in Tulp was appointed Praelector Anatomiae at the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons. His wife died in the same year, leaving him with five young children. In he married his second wife, the daughter of the mayor of Outshoorn. They had three children.

It was Tulp who examined and signed the fitness reports for the first Dutch settlers on the island of Manhattan, and his signature was found on these in the long-lost archives of the Dutch settlement uncovered in the s in the basement of the New York public library.

In his job, Tulp was responsible for inspections of apothecary shops. Chemists in Amsterdam had access to an enormous amount of herbs and spices from the East, thanks to the new shipping routes. It became a successful trade and in there were 66 apothecarie