Art Gallery

The Physician (1653)

Gerrit Dou (1613 - 1675)

Oil on oak panel, 49.3 × 36.7 cm.

At the Museum of Art History in Vienna.

Original title: The Physician

During the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque, uroscopy was the method par excellence to detect internal diseases in patients. The diagnosis was carried out mainly through a visual inspection of urine. As shown in the work, urine was poured into a glass jar called a matula. The analysis included an examination of the color, sediment, and density of the liquid, however, records show that doctors also smelled and even tested the sample for acidity.

Source

González H. (2017): “Uroscopia”, Digital database of medieval iconography. Complutense University of Madrid. Online: www.ucm.es/bdiconografiamedieval/uroscopia