Seeing the "Gross Clinic" with new eyes

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Seeing the "Gross Clinic" with new eyes

POSTED: Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 5:37 PM

Filed Under: Arts Museum

Courtesy of the Philadelphia Art Museum

A long time ago a promising Philadelphia artist introduced a painting to the world at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition. But in 2010, the Philadelphia Museum of Art is asking you to view the centuries-old painting for the first time, even if you've seen it before. Thomas Eakin's "Gross Clinic" disgusted some critics and thrilled others by its disturbing realism: In it, Dr. Samuel Gross, an acclaimed Philly physician, directs a surgery in which dead tissue is removed from a thigh bone. Blood stains his hands. The patient's mother cries in the background. Apathetic students observe the procedure. Despites its grotesque nature, the painting depicted a groundbreaking surgery for the time and became a symbol of Philadelphia pride and innovation. Artistically, Eakins was lauded for his precise and calculated use of color. The artist's combined bright underlayers of paint with dark glazes to create unique, often subdued tones that signified his work. After a long stay at the Jefferson Medical College, the Philadelphia Museum of Art acquired the artwork in 2007 after teaming up with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts to raise $68 million to keep the painting in Philadelphia, amidst controversy. But after examining old photographs and reproductions of "Gross Clinic" as well as x-rays of the painting's original layers, museum experts determined that over the years, restorers had altered the painting from its original form. Bright under layers had been exposed, distracting the viewer and upsetting the painting's color balance, as well as Eakin's intentionally darkly lit background. Through "point by point" retouching and new coats of removable varnish and glazes, "Gross Clinic" has been revamped and restored to its original glory. The exhibit at the Perelman Building of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which runs till Jan. 9, explores the history of the painting and how Eakin's vision was shaped. On display are the original photographs of the painting so you can compare it to its changed form and watch a video on the delicate process that is restoring a painting. Then gaze at "Gross Clinic" itself, it's focused restored to a patient and his doctor — a scientific break through and the Philadelphia man responsible for it, as Eakin's intended.

An Eakins Masterpiece Restored: Seeing 'The Gross Clinic' Anew, $6-8,Philadelphia Museum of Art, Perelman Building, Fairmount and Pennsylvania Avenues; (215) 763-8100, philamuseum.org.

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