1632, a freezing day in Amsterdam and the occasion of the annual Surgeons' Guild lecture. The subject is the medical dissection of a body fresh from the gallows - that of Aris the Thief, whose story is also movingly told. The lecture will be attended by the Burgomeisters and Grandees of Amsterdam, and young Rembrandt van Reen has been invited to paint the occasion. We see him in his studio making sketches and planning his painting. A grim, but fascinating story, beautifully written.
(Jenny Freeman - bwl 100 Spring 2021 ) |
