Nicolaes tulp biography of georgetown

A centuries-old mystery shrouds a distinguished painter and his imagination.

By Pecker J. Koehler

The Dutch physician paramount mayor of Amsterdam Nicolaes Tulp () is known for make available depicted in the painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr.

Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn (). (See Figure 1.) Integrity criminal Aris’t Kint, the for myself on whom an autopsy high opinion performed in the painting, was sentenced to “punishment with nobleness cord,” which was carried subtract on Jan. 31 of cruise year. His corpse was forceful available to the Amsterdam surgeons’ guild, of which Tulp was praelector anatomiae, a term interpretation guild used for anatomy instructors.

Tulp had already been central part contact several times with significance year-old Rembrandt to discuss copperplate painting of an anatomy exercise. In his composition, Rembrandt penurious with the traditions of grandeur group portrait for the time.¹

Observationes Medicae ()

Tulp calculated medicine at Leiden University take settled in Amsterdam.

He chose his surname from the tulips that graced the facade all but his house. He was nobility first Amsterdam physician to be the guest of his patients by coach. Lone of his contemporaries described him as an intelligent and proficient man, with a practice hefty enough “so that it was necessary to drive a instructor &#; having prepared a badly chosen in the cellar under coronate house &#;”

His Observationes Medicae was published in and contained join books.

The second edition, obtainable in , contained four books and cases. (See Figure 2.) Many editions followed as interpretation work was popular and famous by many, including the Country physician Albrecht von Haller (). Some of the neurological cases in Observationes Medicae have antiquated discussed in recent medical facts. These include spina bifida,² cluster headache,³ head injury⁴ including trig case with a depressed breaking for which the trepan was applied, cerebral hemorrhage, beri-beri (polyneuropathy that is now known be required to be caused by thiamine deficiency), hydrocephalus, diastematomyelia, posttraumatic amnesia,⁵ nearby several types of tremors.⁶

Traumatic Hysteria

There is necessitate interesting case from Tulp’s work that was referred to make wet the Dutch physician Eduard Hendrik Marie Thijssen (), but face protector has not been discussed remodel more recent history.

Thijssen was probity son of Amsterdam professor have medicine Henricus Franciscus ().

Name studying medicine, young Thijssen defended his dissertation on Nicolaes Tulp in ⁷ He settled organize Paris, where he was unrestrained by Jean-Martin Charcot () within reach the Salpêtrière.

Like his grandfather Henricus Franciscus Thijssen (), who too published on hysteria, Eduard Thijssen had a special interest cut down this condition.

He wrote excellent second dissertation, Contribution à l’étude de l’hystérie traumatique (), which he dedicated to “Mon cher et vénéré maitre M. well-bred Professeur Charcot” (My dear extract revered master Professor Charcot).

(See Figure 3.) In that dissertation, he mentioned an riveting case, which he had question in Tulp’s Observationes, of “a famous painter of Rembrandt’s period (perhaps even Rembrandt himself), who was bedridden for an all-inclusive winter with mental paralysis bring into the light the legs.”⁸

Melancholy

In Chapter 18 make acquainted the first book of Tulp’s Observationes Medicae, we indeed hit upon the case with the give a call “Imaginaria ossium mollities” or “Imagined softness of the bones.” (See Figure 4.) Tulp introduced potentate case with information on diseases caused by “atra bile” (literally “black bile” which at rendering time was thought to driving force melancholy) and imagined symptoms.

Tulp referred to “the ingenious invention capture Philodotus Medicus” for treating a- melancholic king, who imagined surmount head had been cut move out.

Philodotus put a leaden headdress on the king’s head. Magnanimity weight of the hat troublefree the king think that sharptasting had recovered his head, positive that he was free shun his delusion.

The case has archaic referred to by many scholars, including English author Robert Adventurer () in his famous Anatomy of Melancholy of ⁹ (See Figure 5.) Not such has been discovered about Philodotus since the anecdote was twig published by Alexander of Tralles (c.

c. ).¹⁰

With respect ought to the treatment of such patients, Tulp also referred to primacy Roman encyclopedist Cornelius Celsus (c. 25 BCE – c. 50 CE), who wrote in top famous De Medicinae “… welloff others, melancholy thoughts are realize be dissipated, for which willful music, cymbals, and noises feel of use.

More often, on the other hand, the patient is to write down agreed with rather than laggard, and his mind slowly dominant imperceptibly is to be loathsome from the irrational talk here something better.”¹¹

Softness of the Bones

Tulp described authority own patient as “Insignis Constellation infestatus aliquandiu, ab atrâ bile” or “a renowned painter, smitten for some time with honourableness black bile.” The patient fancied that the bones of queen body were so soft accept pliable that they would without a hitch fold if he put rank slightest pressure on them.

“Which imagination being deeply engraved behave his soul, kept himself beginning bed a whole winter; fearing, when he arose from wear and tear, of some calamity, which was more certain than certain become befall him, which he difficult to understand hitherto dreaded, a deformity another his legs, or rather own up his whole body,” Tulp wrote.

Understanding the patient’s fear, Tulp upfront not want to oppose him.

He visited him secretly turn into slowly ease his imagination, assuring him that this softness was not unknown to physicians. To he referred to De abditis rerum causis (Of the hidden causes of things; ) by loftiness French physician Jean François Fernel (), who introduced the word “physiology.”

Tulp told the painter go off at a tangent as wax can be effortless soft and hard, medicine could do the same in monarch legs.

Tulp said that advantageous three days the painter’s feet would be restored to their former firmness, and by primacy sixth day, he would have to one`s name the ability to go anyplace, but only if he listened to Tulp’s advice.

“One can scarcely say, how great hopes these promises raised to regain success, and how obedient they obligated him, to use the remedies prescribed for the black spleen.

Which being duly driven deviate the body, we were plainly able to keep our term, ordering him to rise expend the bed in which perform had lain a whole winter,” Tulp wrote.

At first, the catamount was told to stand contract his feet and not lawful to walk. He would pule have permission to go turn he wished until the one-sixth day.

“But the sixth short holiday now approaching, we showed candidly the truth of our promise: giving him not only independence to walk about the coach, but also to appear outing public, and to perform bell the activities of a fortifying man at once.” Tulp closed by wondering how this master had not been able coalesce see that the inability generate walk, which had kept him in bed all winter, confidential only been in his forethought, although he was otherwise unadorned great craftsman, “having scarcely a woman equal to him.”¹²

Who Was This Painter?

The number now is, which “renowned painter” had Tulp been secretly treating? In other cases he stated doubtful in his book, he usually provided the full name uphold his patients, as in honourableness case of cluster headache advocate the 13th chapter of depiction first book: Isaak van Halmaal.³ He must have seen birth patient between , the crop in which he obtained her highness MD, and , the twelvemonth in which Observationes Medicae was published.

Could it have been single of the painters who outspoken a portrait of Tulp?

Regarding were at least six painters who did, including Frans Hals (; see Figure 6), Cornelis van der Voort (), Adriaen Cornelisz Beeldemaker (), Jurgen Ovens (), Nicolaes Eliasz Pickenoy (/6), and the aforementioned Rembrandt camper Rijn. If it was ventilate of these six painters, which one was famous in description s and suffered from mournful or depression?

Retrospective diagnoses are always hazardous. A handful physicians have written about melancholy that would have been noticeable in Rembrandt. One author wrote that he was depressed, variety seen in several of reward many self-portraits,¹³ but he was contradicted by a critic.¹⁴ So far another wrote about “Rembrandt’s allocate portrayal of the depressed mind” in reference to his print of Saint Jerome in a- Dark Chamber in , goodness year in which his little woman Saskia van Uylenburgh died.¹⁵ That was a year after Tulp published his Observationes.

In , Rembrandt’s mother died and prior reach that his first three descendants died.^15,16 In , he venal the expensive three-story house mention St.

Anthony Breestraat (today’s Rembrandt House Museum) and received illustriousness commission for The Night Watch (), on which he would work for three years. (See Figure 7.) One of culminate biographers, art historian Jakob Rosenberg (), used the term “crisis” in reference to this time of his life.¹⁷

As Tulp visited his patient secretly and exact not mention him by term in his case description, awe will probably never be beleaguered about the identity of glory painter, but it could hold been Rembrandt van Rijn.

•

References

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2. Koehler PJ. Chiari’s description of cerebellar ectopy ().

With a summary of Cleland’s and Arnold’s contributions and wearying early observations on neural-tube defects.
J Neurosurg. Nov;75(5)

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‘De dreuning der daverende hersenen’; behandeling van traumatisch schedel-hersenletsel twist Nederland in de 17e eeuw: 7 ziektegeschiedenissen uit Observationes medicae van Nicolaes Tulp [‘The fetid of shaking brains’; the maltreatment of traumatic skull and mind injury in the Netherlands market the 17th century: 7 sway reports from Observationes medicae make wet Nicolaes Tulp].

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8. Thijssen EHM. Contribution à l’étude de l’hystérie traumatique. Paris: Imprimerie de la Faculté de Médicine, Davy,

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Schildkraut JJ. Venerate Jerome in a dark chamber: Rembrandt’s metaphoric portrayal of ethics depressed mind. Am J Psychiatry. Jan;(1)

Schildkraut JJ, Cohn Burial chamber, Hawkins H. Then melancholy, important depression: a modern interpretation chief Rembrandt’s mental state in midlife.

J Nerv Ment Dis. Jan;(1)

Rosenberg J. Rembrandt. His polish and work. Rev. Edition. Ithaki (NY), Phaidon, , p.