The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp 2008

Alexander Roitburd's "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp" is a darkly comical scene painted with visible brushstrokes in a muted palette of browns, blues, and fleshy pinks. Imagine Roitburd at work, layering thick paint to build up the figures, each stroke adding to the painting’s strange, theatrical mood. I can't help but wonder what he was thinking as he embedded forks and corkscrews into that looping form that resembles something like bread, or maybe intestines? It’s as though Roitburd is poking fun at Rembrandt's original, turning a serious medical lecture into an absurdist drama. The texture is heavy, almost sculptural, and the colors feel both earthy and a little unsettling. This piece, with its eerie humor, makes me think of other artists who blend the grotesque with the playful, like Ensor or Goya. It reminds us that artists are constantly riffing off each other across time, creating a visual conversation that’s always evolving. Painting’s not about fixed answers but about embracing ambiguity and exploring all the weird, wonderful possibilities.