ABSTRACT
ANATOMY IS DESTINY, FREUD ONCE proclaimed. 1 This essay addresses the fate of anatomy in Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp and Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman as an occasion to reconsider Aloïs Riegl’s 1902 study of the Dutch group portrait in relation to subsequent art historical commentary. Riegl’s study is still relevant because his explanations of the formal strategies of Dutch painting and Rembrandt’s art remain unsurpassed, and his broader argument anticipates crucial methodological debates. The changing interpretations of Rembrandt’s anatomy lessons can serve to elucidate the stakes of art history and provide an opportunity to combine the perspectives of Riegl and later commentators to produce new readings.
