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Analysis Of Sir Luke Fildes 'The Doctor'

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Sir Luke Fildes, a renowned painter of the late Victorian age, completed an oil painting titled The Doctor, in 18871. It captures in a glimpse the socio-historical milieu which shaped the identity of the General Practitioner in Victorian England since the 1840s. The painting shows a doctor attending the sickbed of a poor child. Though a candle is burning still, a natural light also comes in, suggesting that it is now dawn, and the child has survived the night. The doctor’s figure represents a calm and soothing heroism at the face of death. He has spent, it seems, a sleepless night, nursing the sick child.
The painting not only depicts a positive and humanitarian image of the Victorian General Practitioner, but also conforms to the close

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