Portraits in the Medical Canon: "Self as Specimen" & "The Ag(new) Clinic"

This thesis explores the ongoing dehumanization underlying modern medicine, discussing how power dynamics within the doctor-patient relationship are reinforced through visual representation and addressing the broader systemic issues that contribute to U.S. healthcare. Drawing from art historical works such as Thomas Eakins’ The Agnew Clinic and Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, I examine how these paintings establish a legacy of the “medical gaze”—a way of seeing that reduces patients to bodies, symptoms, and objects of study. These artworks not only reflect clinical detachment but also present how institutional hierarchies have continued to influence medical practice both then and now. In response, my paintings Self as Specimen and The Ag(new) Clinic reframe these traditions through a personal and contemporary lens. By using self-portraiture and mirroring the structures of historical paintings, I insert myself into both patient and physician roles, collapsing binaries of power and vulnerability. My work draws attention to the persistence of medical objectification across time and offers a visual critique of systemic inequality in healthcare, while foregrounding the lived experiences of patients.