Dorpsdokter 1670 - 1724

Jacob Gole made this engraving, "Dorpsdokter," sometime between 1660 and 1737. It depicts a village doctor extracting a tooth from a patient. The image is interesting to think about in the context of the Dutch Golden Age and its medical practices. The "Dorpsdokter" plays on the popular image of the barber surgeon, who was a common figure in Dutch towns. Before modern medical schools, healthcare was unregulated and often provided by untrained individuals. We can see evidence of this context in the doctor’s eccentric hat and theatrical garb. The patient's expression of suffering and the unsanitary implements, convey the backwardness of contemporary medicine. To understand this image better, it would be useful to research the history of medicine in the Dutch Republic. Prints like these offer a window into the past and highlight the social conditions that shape our understanding of health and healing.