Rembrandt's Fragmentary Anatomy Lesson on Loan at Rembrandt House Museum

Rembrandt's 1656 painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman," on loan from the Amsterdam Museum, is on display at the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam until August 30, 2026. The work originally measured about 2.5 by 3 meters but was reduced to a fragment after a fire in 1723 destroyed more than half of it. The surviving portion shows Dr. Jan Deijman's assistant Gijsbert Calkoen holding a skullcap and the body of executed criminal Joris Fonteijn. Seven surgeons who commissioned the painting originally hung it in their guild building, De Waag on the Nieuwmarkt. Rembrandt's technique includes visible underpainting and minimal paint application to create lifelike feet. The corpse's pose echoes Andrea Mantegna's "Lamentation of Christ" (c. 1480, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan), evoking compassion. Unlike Rembrandt's earlier "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (1632, Mauritshuis, The Hague), this painting places the corpse frontally, emphasizing the empty abdominal cavity. The 1656 commission came during Rembrandt's financial difficulties, providing income and exposure. Epco Runia, Head of Collections and Research at the Rembrandt House Museum, provides context.