William Cheselden, English Surgeon
Portrait of the English surgeon and teacher of anatomy and surgery William Cheselden (1688 - 1752). Cheselden was influential in establishing surgery as a scientific medical profession. He also published the first full and accurate description of the anatomy of the human skeletal system. This portrait was engraved by Ambroise Tardieu after a painting by Jonathan Richardson. Formal 18th century paintings typically show figures wearing powdered wigs. This portrait of Cheselden without a wig is unusual; however, Chedelden may have preferred the turban to the wig. Routine wearing of wigs required keeping the hair quite short, and in the cold climate of England it was both for practical and aesthetic considerations that turbans were worn when the wig was off
