Artwork
The Doctor
The Doctor is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Adriaensz. van Staveren. It dates from 1653 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Jan Adriaensz.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The work functions as a genre scene that captures contemporary medical practice, reflecting 17th‑century attitudes toward the physician’s role.
The painting shows a physician in a modest interior, holding a medical instrument while consulting with a patient. The work functions as a genre scene that captures contemporary medical practice, reflecting 17th‑century attitudes toward the physician’s role. Its iconography emphasizes professional authority and the everyday setting of healthcare, suggesting a commentary on the respectability of the medical profession.
The subject therefore represents the physician as a figure of both scientific inquiry and social interaction, embodying the era’s blend of empirical observation and moral virtue.
Technique & Style
The work was executed on a copper support using oil paint, a technique typical of Dutch genre scenes from the mid-17th century. Its handling and condition reflect careful preservation, though specific details of surface state are not elaborated in the sources. The composition demonstrates a formal approach to portraiture within the genre_scene classification, aligning with workshop practices attributed to Gerrit Dou.
The painting measures 49 cm in height and 37 cm in width, maintaining the original dimensions recorded in the documentation.
History & Provenance
The painting The Doctor was created by Jan Adriaensz van Staveren, sometimes attributed to the workshop of Gerrit Dou. Internal records date the work to 1653, while other sources list an inception year of 1661. Executed in oil on a copper support, the piece depicts a physician in a genre scene setting.
The known ownership chain includes Josephus Augustinus Brentano and Pieter Hendrik Six van Vromade. The work is currently associated with the Museum De Lakenhal, though it is also linked to the Rijksmuseum in some records. It is considered a variant based on the composition titled The Physician.
The painting The Doctor is currently held by Museum De Lakenhal. While the work is associated with the workshop of Gerrit Dou and attributed to Jan Adriaensz van Staveren, it is also listed in the collections of the Rijksmuseum and Museum De Lakenhal in the source data. Historical ownership records indicate the piece was previously owned by Josephus Augustinus Brentano and Pieter Hendrik Six van Vromade.
The artwork, executed in oil on copper, depicts a physician and dates to either 1653 or 1661. No specific exhibition history or accession numbers are provided in the available records.
Overview
Jan Adriaensz. van Staveren’s 1653 work The Doctor is a small‑scale oil painting executed on copper. The composition presents a physician in a dimly lit interior, surrounded by objects that suggest a study of anatomy and pharmacology. The piece belongs to the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and exemplifies the meticulous genre painting for which the Leiden fijnschilders are known.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Adriaensz. van Staveren (1614 in Leiden – 1669 in Leiden), was a Dutch Golden Age painter of the Leiden school of fijnschilders. According to the RKD he was fourteen when he entered his name in 1628 in the Leiden…
