Analysis Of The Gross Clinic By Thomas Eakin

Kelsey Sabara

ART 115

April 20, 2016

Dr. Steven Kerrigan

The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins

During the 19th century a large quantity of art pieces were known for their focus on modern day life, of what the average society member would often see on a day to day basis. Thomas Eakins, was a painter commonly associated with realism in the United States during the 19th century, and was harshly viewed on what he would frequently base his painting’s content on. In Eakins's most criticized painting, The Gross Clinic, the content he based his subject matter on was viewed not favorable to the society even with the amount of talent that went into it. The Gross Clinic was debatably one of the best artworks of the time period, but was often looked

down upon by the society.
Thomas Eakins was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and had an interest in human anatomy(G. Friedlaender & L.Friedlaender, 2014). Eakins ended up going to college for anatomy at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and later would attend Jefferson Medical College where he would be involved in coming in to listen to anatomy lectures and watch surgical procedures (G. Friedlaender & L.Friedlaender, 2014). Later Eakins had moved his studies to Paris where he had furthered his interest with anatomy and art from 1866-1869 (G. Friedlaender & L.Friedlaender, 2014). Eakins went to the extreme of anatomy and art during his Paris studies when he had studied nude models and performed human and animal dissections (G. Friedlaender & L.Friedlaender, 2014). Eakins did end up coming back to the United States, to Philadelphia, after he had traveled from Spain and Paris to further his search in his studies ( The Gross Clinic: Thomas Eakins (1884-1886) 1998).
After returning from Philadelphia, Eakins had the vision of showing his abilities to paint and to “honor the scientific achievements of his native Philadelphia,” when he had decided to do the oil painting of The Gross Clinic (Foster, 2009). In the painting, Eakins had captured his main focus Dr. Gross and a group of four other men, as they are performing a surgery on an anonymous patient. According to Stokstad & Cothren (2008) in the front there is a lady with her eyes covered as she is looking in a disgusted motion, giving the notation that it could be her son is the one being performed on (Stokstad & Cothren, 981, 2008). In the background there are a group of students sitting in a higher leveled stance as the viewer can tell that they are in a classroom session. Eakins did include himself as a part of the painting in the background, as well, giving the sense that he was there in the actual performance.
Mid way between the foreground and background the viewer can see another man in the back by the students, with a little more emphasis than the rest of the others. Giving the viewer the conclusion he is the professor, and this is a class going on during the time. According to Stokstad & Cothren again in this moment Dr. Gross is stopped as he is turned facing outwards as he is in the process of giving lecture as the students in the background take notes(Stokstad & Cothren 2014). Eakins makes Dr. Gross an heroic figure in the picture as the other four doctors are performing the work while he is talking, giving the sense he is in charge of the scenario.
Eakins used light to capture the importance in the painting as he has gave Dr. Gross’s head and his hand with the spectacle meaning that he is smart and he is doing the work himself. He also uses light to capture the professor in the background, as if he would want the viewer to know it was all happening during a class. The colors also bring out the importance in the painting as everything seems to be of dark colors, besides the white on the table where the surgery is taking place, where the observer can see the leg of the patient being worked on. The lighting and colors in this painting had drawn attention to Dr. Gross’s and the surgery happening at the time.
During this time period many artists would do paintings that were more relative to the everyday activities and what were seen,often causing negative thinking about Eakins and his painting.

The Gross Clinic was seen as gross or disgusting, causing the painting to not be favorable of the people and causing controversy over the content. During this time, there was a lot of fear with surgeons as they usually were sought to use the poor to test surgeries on often leading to amputate the limb instead of trying to stop the disease. While the focus of Eakins painting was to show that Dr. Gross was a doctor that didn’t believe in doing the easiest way,but what was the right way.as. In this painting the surgery that they are performing during this moment was often one that lead to the doctors removing the limbs, but instead Dr. Gross and his crew are working on the patient and the limb. The main point of the painting would often get overlooked by the society, just because of the content that is portrayed rather than the message implied. Leading to why Eakins painting did not make it into the Philadelphia's 1876 Centennial Exhibition, who he initially made the piece for (Foster,

2009).
Eakins painting, The Gross Clinic, was often viewed at wrong with the content that was intended verse what others thought it was about, leading to negative comments and thinking about his painting.

Often the people would just look at the blood on the spectacle and automatically think it was inappropriate to have around, while the intent was to show the honor of Dr. Gross and doctors who were working in the field from Philadelphia. The amount of details and the amount of time also get overlooked because of the content that is involved, as well. The Gross Clinic is a very intriguing to look at when thinking about the success both Dr. Gross and Thomas Eakins have brought to their fields of study.

References

Foster, K. A. (2009). Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/299524.html

The Gross Clinic: Thomas Eakins (1844-1916). (1998). The Lancet. Retrieved April 16, 2016.

Stokstad, M., & Cothren, M. W. (2008). Art History (5th ed., Vol. 2). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Friedlaender, G. E., & Friedlaender, L. K. (2014). The Gross Clinic. Art in Science. Retrieved April 17,

2016.