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| Rembrandt. Tobias operates on his father's
eyes watched over by an angel. 1636
Rembrandt appeared to have some knowledge about cataract operation. In this work devoted to the story of Tobit, Tobias carefully inserts a needle into the eye of Tobit: the classic operation to treat cataract (couching). However, couching would not be useful here as according to the bible, Tobit suffered from "leucoma", an inflammation that causes a white opacity of the cornea of the eye. Corneal graft will be more appropriate for Tobit but judging by the unhygienic environment in which the operation may be carried out the failure rate is likely to be high. Stuttgart Museum, Germany |
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