Core Record |
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| Title | The Dentist | |
| Collection | National Trust for Scotland (Brodie Castle) | |
| Artist | Attributed to circle of Teniers, David, II (Flemish painter, 1610-1690) Previously attributed to school of Dou, Gerrit (Dutch painter and draftsman, 1613-1675) |
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| Date Earliest | probably 1650 | |
| Date Latest | probably 1690 | |
| Description | The scene is set within a painted niche: a dentist, depicted half-length and close to the picture plane, looks at the viewer. He is proudly holding up a tooth he has just removed from the man cowering in the dark background. On the ledge are pots and bowls. A skull and an hour-glass allude to the brevity of life. The figure of the dentist is the same as in The Alchemist, which is also at Brodie Castle (73.80b). At the time dentists, like doctors and alchemists, were often seen as quacks. | |
| Current Accession Number | 73.80a | |
| Subject | everyday life | |
| Measurements | 28.0 x 22.2 cm cm (estimate) | |
| Material | oil on metal (copper) | |
| Acquisition Details | Given by Ninian, 25th Brodie of Brodie, 1980. | |
| Provenance | Possibly with William, 22nd Brodie of Brodie by about 1824; by descent to Ninian, 25th Brodie of Brodie. | |
| Publications | Thomson, D., 'The Golden Age at Brodie Castle', Heritage Scotland, vol. 15, no. 3, 1998, p.26, ill. P. 21. | |
| Rights Owner | National Trust for Scotland | |
| Author | Dr Claudia Heide | |