Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2016.

The Surgeon

Artist David Teniers the Younger (Flemish, 1610 - 1690)

Date1670s

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall, Support: 22 1/2 x 29 in. (57.2 x 73.7 cm)
Overall, Frame: 32 1/4 x 38 1/2 in. (81.9 x 97.8 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number71.480

Terms

People
Medicine
Monkey
Interior
Brown
Red
Blue
White
Yellow
Green
Gray
Genre
Brussels

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

On view

DescriptionThis oil on canvas painting depicts a scene in which two men are being treated by a surgeon. In the foreground, one man grimaces as the surgeon digs into his back . In the background, a faint and weak looking man being attended to by one of the surgeon's unskilled assistants. The figures are surrounded by the surgeon's potions and animal skeletons, as well as a monkey in the bottom corner..

Label TextDavid Teniers the Younger Flemish, 1610–1690 The Surgeon, 1670s Oil on canvas Is there a doctor in the house? Not in this one. The medic in this picture is a lowly barber surgeon, a quack who preyed on the ignorant and poor. Surrounded by his potions and aided by two dimwitted assistants, he operates on a patient’s back, ignoring his painful yelp. The monkey crouching nearby is an age-old symbol of foolishness. He “apes” the patient’s pose, suggesting that the man is chained to the ignorant belief that the barber surgeon will cure him. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.480