The Anatomy Lesson of Nicolaes Tulp, painted by Rembrandt in 1632

In 1632 Rembrandt painted his masterpiece known as The Anatomy Lesson of Nicolaes Tulp. This world‐famous group portrait of the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons depicts an anatomy lesson on the corpse of an executed criminal. Nicolaes Tulp, praelector anatomiae (lecturer in anatomy), performed an anatomical dissection of the forearm to teach anatomy to the surgeons who are standing next to him. By studying the original Guild documents and literature dealing with the painting, the lives and work of the represented surgeons, their teacher Nicolaes Tulp, and the criminal record of the man who ended as a corpse are elucidated. The anatomical accuracy of the displayed forearm in the painting is investigated by reproducing the dissection on a corpse.