The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt (1632): A Comparison of the Painting With a Dissected Left Forearm of a Dutch Male Cadaver

Rembrandt's The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632) is considered a masterpiece and is a group portrait of the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons in the form of an anatomy lesson. Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, Doctor of Medicine and Praelector Anatomiae to the Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons, showed an anatomic dissection of a forearm on the corpse of an executed criminal. The anatomic accuracy in Rembrandt's famous painting has been discussed in the literature for decades without any general consensus. In 2006, on the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth, a forearm dissection of a cadaver and a comparison with the anatomy in the painting are presented to analyze the anatomic accuracy of Rembrandt's famous painting.