The Gross Clinic, by Thomas Eakins
HA-314-801 The History of American Art
“I never knew of but one artist, and this is Tom Eakins, who could resist the temptation to see what they think ought to be rather than what is.” – Walt Whitman
Thomas Eakins, was one the most important painters of American Art History. He also was an photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. In this essay, you will explore his life, his works and one of his most famous paintings' which considered shocking by viewers: The Gross Clinic.
Thomas Eakins was born in 1844, he lived most of his life in his home city of Philadelphia. After graduating high school he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He simultaneously took anatomy courses at
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The canvas depicts him performing a surgery in the University ampitheatre. He is removing a portion of a diseased bone from the thigh of a 14-year-old boy, whose mother looks on in horror. His son stands in the doorway, and Eakins himself is seated in the gallery on the right side of the painting. There are 28 portraits in the painting -- all depictions of actual individuals. The painting was considered shocking in its day, and indeed still inspires shock in the viewer who first sees it.
As chair of surgery from 1856 to 1882, Dr. Gross inspired thousands of Jefferson medical students and assistants with his articulate lectures, calm judgment, mechanical dexterity, and contributions to surgical technique. Gross was author or editor of hundreds of articles and many books. His two-volume System of Surgery of 1859, perhaps his best known work, appeared in six editions and in several foreign languages. Gross was deeply involved in local, national, and international medical societies and was a founder and office holder of many.
Thomas Eakins was aged thirty-one and had never before attempted such an ambitious composition when he requested Dr. Gross, then seventy years old and at the pinnacle of his profession in 1875, to approve his conception for a portrait of the physician in his surgical clinic. The young artist's confidence must have stemmed from his knowledge of anatomy and his prior experiences in the medical environment. He hoped to establish his
Surgeons in the time of the civil war would have most likely learned from Samuel Cooper who wrote the book “The First Lines of: The Practice of surgery” written in 1807 along with his other books.
Thomas Nast was born in a city named Landau in Germany on September 27, 1840. Thomas Nast and his family had moved to New York when he was six years old. When they arrived to New York, Thomas Nast and his sister was enrolled in a public school. He was struggling in adjusting at school and one of the reasons was unable to speak English properly. He was always into drawings as he was doodling most of the time. At twelve years old, he managed to convince his parents about quitting
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Thomas Kinkade was known for using strong contrasts between light and dark. He had many artistic talents that spanned over many genres and styles. Kinkade would use “symbols and uplifting imagery to communicate his point of view.” He forged his own path while developing his own styles and techniques. Although Kinkade tried to forge his own path, he had inspirations as well. “The Hudson River and Rocky Mountain Schools of Painting heavily influenced Kinkade’s Early Work”
“As an artist I have always tried to be faithful to my vision of life, and I have frequently been in conflict with those who wanted me to paint not what I saw but what they wished me to see.”
Deborah Lupton is a sociologist and a research professor at the University of Canberra, Australia. She received bachelor degrees in sociology and anthropology at the Australian National University, as well as a Masters in Public Health and a doctorate from the University of Sydney. She has written 14 books and 130 academic journals on the topics of medicine and public health from a sociological perspective. She is currently researching topics such as sociology in a digital culture and digital health analysis (Lupton, 2012).
Thomas Cole produced paintings that embodied notions that were an antithesis to the developing ideals of consumerism and decadence in his time. Cole found solace in embracing the authenticity and spirituality of nature like many transcendentalists
In 1890’s began a series of disappointments for Eakins. He submitted The Agnew Clinic to the Pennsylvania Academy’s annual exhibition of 1891, but the work was rejected on a technicality. The Society of American Artists in New York declined to exhibit all but one of Eakins submissions for three consecutive years, prompting him to resign in 1892. The Art Students League of Philadelphia, formed by Eakins students from the
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“An artist must be free to choose what he does, certainly, but he must also never be afraid to do what he might choose.”
Thomas Eakins, an American painter, is recognized for his anatomical depictions of men and women in his paintings. In the Romantic era, it was known for artists to illustrate scenes which evoke emotions; however, Eakins’ The Gross Clinic (1875) bluntly portrayed a bloody surgery, which was not received well, due to the fact that few other painting depicted such a vulgar and graphic scene. In the nineteenth century, men were viewed as the rational, reasonable and intellectual beings, superior over the passive and submissive qualities of women. In that time period, man was considered woman’s superior over God’s appointment. Eakins portrayal of men and women reflect the characters of both sexes present in his society.
Hospital acquired infections are one of the most common complications of care in the hospital setting. Hospital acquired infections are infections that patients acquired during the stay in the hospital. These infections can cause an increase number of days the patients stay in the hospital. Hospital acquired infections makes the patients worse or even causes death. “In the USA alone, hospital acquired infections cause about 1.7 million infections and 99,000 deaths per year”(secondary).
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First, we see that Rembrandt decided not to emphasize the audience, or grandeur of the annual dissection of a human corpse. He chose to keep his adaptation of the autopsy much more intimate than his counterpart did. This was typical of Rembrandt’s idealization of death, he sought to emphasize its somberness – even if he was painting what was considered a spectacle of wealth, and degradation of the dead. In contrast, Eakins sought to celebrate the teachings, and work of the doctor and did this by way of including the crowd that stood witness to the surgery. He wanted to show how intrigued audience members were of the procedure being performed, more so than the sort of solitude of Rembrandt’s piece. Furthermore, Rembrandt focused more on the actual subject of the surgery; whereas, Eakins focus was more that of the audience’s reaction to the surgery. For this to be accomplished, Rembrandt omitted obscure details surrounding the “event”, while Eakins emphasis was the detail surrounding the event. Rembrandt almost dulled the backdrop to a feeling of blankness. On the other hand, Eakins filled the entire canvas with details of the teaching – even including himself in the doorway. Additionally, the stark difference that I find most intriguing is the fact that differences in medical procedures were an emphasis for both artists. For instance, the participants of Dr. Tulp’s are clearly in the midst of a lesson which is shown by way of the doctor holding the tendons of the hand a medical instrument, and there is a book present. On the contrary, lighter colors were used in Eakins piece to highlight the advancements of sterility. Additionally, there is no assistant shown in Rembrandt’s piece, whereas there is a nursing assistant shown in Eakins painting. This to me points out the differences in
Public health is a dynamic field of medicine that is concerned primarily with improving the health of populations rather than just the health of individuals. Winslow (1920) defined public health as;