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Why did Thomas Eakins attend anatomy lectures at Jefferson Medical College?
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Thomas Eakins
Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic), oil on canvas by Thomas Eakins, 1875; part of the collections of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Art Museum. 2 Ć 2.5 m.
Thomas Eakins attended anatomy lectures at Jefferson Medical College because he was deeply interested in studying and portraying the human figure with precision and realism.12
His commitment to understanding the human form went beyond standard artistic training; he reinforced his work with live models at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts by attending these medical lectures and eventually witnessing and participating in anatomy dissections. This rigorous scientific approach allowed him to achieve the technical ability to depict both the external physical realities of his subjects and their deeper character, a hallmark of his contributions to 19th-century American Realism.213