
In 1891, Luke Fildes painted “The Doctor”. A painting that contained an event in the artist’s very own lifetime. Mr. Fildes’ first son Philip died of tuberculosis in 1877. Fildes’ son and biographer wrote: 

‘‘The character and bearing of their doctor throughout the time of their anxiety, made a deep impression on my parents. Dr. Murray became a symbol of professional devotion which would day inspire the painting of The Doctor” (Birchall)

The painting itself was presented by Sir Henry Tate in, 1894. The Doctor was one of the fifty-seven pictures offered by Henry Tate as a gift to the nation in 1897 (Birchall). There are several details in the painting that reflect an idea of “Social Realism” a popular art form at the time.

The first detail in the painting that I noticed was that the sick child was lying on two chairs with a blanket and pillow. It draws attention that the family might be poor and did not have a bed for the boy whom is sick. They surely didn’t do that to make it easier for the doctor, because the doctor could have examined the child at bedside. The child also has a bowl and what looks like a pitcher on a small bench next to him. This suggests that the child might have been there for a long time and whenever he needed something to eat it could be poured and consumed with minimal effort.

To continue with the emphasis on the family being poor. The home seems poor and low quality. The have a clothesline running in the background inside the house, covered with what looks like rags and miscellaneous pieces of cloth.  There is also some sticks and branches at the bottom left of the painting underneath the table as well. There is no visible fire place within the painting so it is unknown why the branches are under the table just to the right of the doctor.

To continue with my observations on The Doctor. The Doctor’s outfit is much more expensive and stands out from the rest of the environment. The house seems kind of poor and made of stone, in contrast, his suit suggests he is either wealthy or he comes from a city or larger town. The nice clean pressed suit also gives the Doctor some sort of predetermined education and that by dressing in a sharp manor you could tell he was very educated. Without the title of the painting the observer could tell he was some sort of doctor or wise man. The doctor is old and has a grey beard. The beard also gives emphasis on the fact that without the title one could tell he was educated. It isn’t a raggedy beard it is nice, clean and straight. The beard looks like how ancient Greeks and Romans would have carved stone statues of their philosophers and wise men, many of whom had beards.

Light also plays a very important role in this painting. Since ancient times light and darkness have been at battle light representing good, happiness, and hope. While darkness represents evil, sadness, hopelessness. That struggle between the light and the dark couldn’t be clearer in this painting. The light on the doctor comes from a lamp on the table just to the right of the doctor. The light on him gives the observer this feeling that the doctor is some sort of savior and the family’s last hope for their child to get better again. The darkness on parents doesn’t necessarily mean evil either. The darkness on the parents in the background represents their sadness and despair. If you look at the mother she is sitting at what looks like the dinner table, her head is down and presumably she is crying and her hands are folded as if she is praying. The husband is standing next to her his left hand on her right shoulder in attempt to comfort her. However unknown to the wife the father has a sad and worrisome expression on his face. The act displayed but the husband to comfort the wife while he himself is worried shows a lot about the character of the father without him saying a word.

The whole act displayed by the parents is interesting on its own. Its quite normal for parents to react sad and upset that their child is sick or in pain. However, I want to draw attention to the mothers clasped hands as if praying.  To me that simple act displayed in the painting is a tremendous one. They’ve called upon the doctor to fix their child however the doctors right hand is resting on his chin as if in deep thought or concern, which might mean he doesn’t know what is wrong with the child or, he is still in the process of figuring out this illness.  But for the mother, the doctor’s help isn’t enough. She’s praying to god hoping that the child will be healed. It seems the mother is afraid she’s praying to god that whatever this child has it isn’t fatal and she isn’t going to die.  I did some research of my own on what diseases were running rampant during the time of this painting and during the time of the artist’s son’s death. These epidemics included typhus, scarlet fever, measles, influenza, cholera, smallpox, and diphtheria. (Windyka). The child could also have tuberculosis just like the artist’s. Without going into detail about each disease, every single one was fatal without modern medicine, and long term exposure. Children had higher death rates than adults. This could be why the mother is praying, hoping the child doesn’t have these illnesses or if the child does hopefully the child will survive.

This painting is marvelous by not only the “social realism” and accurate depiction of what an 1800’s family home might have looked like, but the painting also gives us insight on what this artist’s life was like at one point and how medicine was practiced in the late 1800’s. The painting contains many details that one couldn’t simply observe in one sitting. This painting is truly a work of art.
