1524
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Surgeon is a 1524 ink by Lucas van Leyden, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows two men in a tense scene. One man, on top, is pulling back the skin of the other’s arm with both hands, exposing the muscle underneath. The man on the bottom looks up with a mix of pain and surprise. Both have detailed, wrinkled faces and baggy clothes, and the background is simple, focusing all attention on their struggle. The image feels like a warning about the human body and suffering. The artist used sharp lines and shading to show every muscle and vein, making it look almost like a medical study. Want to see how artists used this technique? Try looking up engraving.
Lucas van Leyden (1494 – 8 August 1533), was a Dutch painter and printmaker in engraving and woodcut. Lucas van Leyden was among the first Dutch exponents of genre painting and was a very accomplished engraver.
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![The Surgeon [reverse copy]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/12ced91956e84708/thumb.webp)
