The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp central figures (in this case, Dr. Tulp) probably paid more, even twice as much. Rembrandt's anatomical portrait radically altered the conventions of the genre, by including a full length corpse in the center of the image (using Christ-like iconography) and creating not just a portrait but a dramatic Mise-en-scène. Rembrandt's image is a fiction; in a typical anatomy lesson, the surgeon would begin by opening the chest cavity and thorax because the internal organs there decay most rapidly. One person is missing: the Preparator, whose task was to prepare the body for the lesson. In the 17th century an important
Dirck Tulp Dirck Tulp Dirck or Diederik Tulp (1624–1682) was the son of the surgeon professor Nicolaes Tulp and involved in the Dutch East India Company and the Civic guard. Dirck Tulp visited Moscovia with his father-in-law; he was painted in 1653 by Paulus Potter. In 1647, Dirck accompanied Albert Burgh, son of a brewer and former mayor of Amsterdam, on his mission to Russia, to build up trade connections, especially in grain. Dirck Tulp married Anna Burgh in 1650, daughter of the late Burgh. The couple lived initially on Kloveniersburgwal 65, a building given to Anna by her family. This house