The use of the work of art as a teaching method for criminalistics and forensic Medicine: The anatomy lesson from Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
Abstract
This article presents an analysis from the criminal investigation of Rembrandt’s work: Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632). The first section addresses the material that will be used as an object of study. It includes some descriptions of Rembrandt’s work and some elements that emphasize the context in which it was made. In the second of the sections the method in relation to the criminal investigation is exposed. In this topic, both observation techniques and research principles are considered. At this time the tools of criminology are exposed to examine the work. The results are explained in section three. It establishes the mistakes and successes of Remabrandt approached from the perspective of forensic medicine. And finally the conclusions of this work are exposed, which are: 1) Similar practices can be applied to work in the analytical sense of who participates in them; 2) The scene shows an anatomy lesson and not a necropsy; 3) With exercises like this, observation, argumentation and application of the theory are encouraged; 4) It is feasible to use works such as Rembrandt’s to teach subjects such as criminology or forensic medicine.
