Qwiz5 Quizbowl Essentials — Thomas Eakins

American painter Thomas Eakins is remembered as one of the greatest realist painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although he was trained partially in Paris, Eakins spent most of his life in Philadelphia. Eakins’ paintings eschewed subjects like mythology or grand landscapes in favor of everyday Philadelphians. Read on to learn more about Thomas Eakins; we promise it’s not all gross. (And if you don’t get the joke, you should definitely read on!)  

By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge, patterns that will help you answer questions. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on Thomas Eakins.    

MAX SCHMITT IN A SINGLE SCULL

One of Eakins’ first famous works was The Champion Single Sculls, also known as Max Schmitt in a Single Scull. Eakins created this painting shortly after returning from Europe in 1870. The painting’s center is dominated by Max Schmitt, a champion amateur rower, after he had won a race on Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River. Eakins also rowed in his spare time, and he inserted himself into the painting as another rower in the middle distance.

GROSS CLINIC

As part of his commitment to realism, Eakins studied anatomy at Philadelphia’s Jefferson Medical College. The experience inspired him when he painted his Portrait of Dr. Samuel D. Gross (The Gross Clinic) for Philadelphia’s 1876 Centennial Exhibition. The painting depicts the famous surgeon leading a clinic in Jefferson College’s medical amphitheater. At the center of the painting, Gross delivers a lecture while assisting four doctors operating on a patient’s thigh to his left. A woman in black on the left, identified as the patient’s mother, recoils from the scene in horror. 

THE AGNEW CLINIC

Eakins revisited the subject of surgery in 1889’s The Agnew Clinic. This painting depicts the titular doctor supervising a partial mastectomy in a surgical amphitheater. In contrast with doctors of The Gross Clinic, the doctors in The Agnew Clinic wear white coats instead of black frock coats. Eakins himself is at the extreme right edge of the painting. 

THE SWIMMING HOLE

Painted between 1884-1885, The Swimming Hole is one of Eakins’ most accomplished paintings. Initially titled The Swimmers but given its more familiar name following Eakins’ death, The Swimming Hole depicts five male nudes bathing in Dove Lake, outside Philadelphia. The nudes are based on Eakins and several of his friends. Although painted in a contemporary setting, The Swimming Hole is often praised for its classical influence. One swimmer, reclined on a rocky promontory on the painting’s left, is likened to the sculpture The Dying Gaul. 

WILLIAM RUSH AND HIS MODEL

Eakins produced several paintings depicting Philadelphia sculptor William Rush at work that are collectively known as William Rush and his Model. Rush was a wood sculptor who worked in the early 19th century. Eakins’ paintings show Rush creating his most famous sculpture, Water Nymph and Bittern, which was installed at Philadelphia’s first waterworks. 

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Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out: 

• With The Gross Clinic Eakins sought to not only celebrate America’s medical achievements, but to establish the place of the relatively young country in the history of art

• Eakins’ The Swimming Hole is often said to be a painting on the Arcadian theme; learn more about it from this Nashville Arts article. 

• Thomas Eakins made a famous painting of one of his creative contemporaries, a gentleman who also famously referenced a group of men bathing.

  
  

• Watch this video to learn more about the famous Dr. Agnew. 

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