Portrait painting benefitted greatly from such commissions and from the general appreciation of art by bourgeois clients, who supported portraiture as well as still-life and landscapes painting. In addition, the first significant art and dealer markets flourished in Holland at that time. With plenty of demand, Rembrandt was able to experiment with unconventional composition and technique, such as chiaroscuro. He demonstrated these innovations, pioneered by Italian masters such as Caravaggio, most notably in his famous "Night Watch" (1642). "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp" (1632) is another fine example of Rembrandt's mastery of the group painting, in which he bathes the corpse
Dirck Tulp had been used for dying silk since 1603. The silk was imported from Persia, and shipped, either through Archangelsk or the Strait of Gibraltar. A pair of fashionable Flemish ladies had headed it, its activities occurring in its light and airy attics. Over the years, the operation was largely moved to the Jordaan. When Tulp and his wife began building-work in 1652, they had the building embellished with stucco and the floor laid with marble. The Kloveniersburgwal was an attractive site for the rich, being close to the nerve center of the VOC, in which Tulp was appointed as delegate.