The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Freeman

A portrait of my husband who was an anatomy professor at the University of New South Wales. The composition is after Rembrandt’s painting The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, but from there it differs! Set in a modern-day university lab the students themselves are anatomical studies, while Dr Freeman is the only unflayed character present. In the background I have emphasized the pattern of the wood grain of the surface of the panel to show the similarity between the growth patterns of wood and human muscle fibre.