De osteologieles van Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertsz.

In 1619 the Surgeons’ Guild moved to the former St Anthonis Gate on the Nieuwmarkt. This painting was probably commissioned for the occasion.The subject of this group portrait is not an anatomy lesson but a demonstration in osteology, the study of bones. The man to the left of the skeleton is the old praelector Dr Sebastiaen Egbertsz (1563 –1621). In 1615 he had mounted the skeleton of an executed English pirate, and this may be what the painting shows. The picture is mentioned in a document of 1750 as made by Thomas de Keyser. Nowadays however, this attribution is considered doubtful.

De osteologieles van Dr. Sebastiaen Egbertsz.

In 1619 the Surgeons’ Guild moved to the former St Anthonis Gate on the Nieuwmarkt. This painting was probably commissioned for the occasion.The subject of this group portrait is not an anatomy lesson but a demonstration in osteology, the study of bones. The man to the left of the skeleton is the old praelector Dr Sebastiaen Egbertsz (1563 –1621). In 1615 he had mounted the skeleton of an executed English pirate, and this may be what the painting shows. The picture is mentioned in a document of 1750 as made by Thomas de Keyser. Nowadays however, this attribution is considered doubtful.