Changes

==Early life==

==Early life==

[[Image:Writing master.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Eakins portrayed his father, Benjamin, in ''The Writing Master'' (1882)]]  

[[Image:Writing master.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Eakins portrayed his father, Benjamin, in ''The Writing Master'' (1882)]]  

Except for a period of study in Europe and a trip to the western United States, Eakins lived his entire life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Here he learned manual dexterity and precision from his father, a master of the art of writing and caligraphy.  He had a sound education, doing well in his studies, especially math and the sciences.  His interest in art led him to enroll in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, where he developed his knowledge of the live model by attending medical lectures in anatomy at the nearby Jefferson Medical College, witnessing operations and dissections by Doctor Samuel Gross, one of the 19th century's brilliant American surgeons.

Except for a period of study in Europe and a trip to the western United States, Eakins lived his entire life in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Here he learned manual dexterity and precision from his father, a master of the art of writing and calligraphy.  He had a sound education, doing well in his studies, especially math and the sciences.  His interest in art led him to enroll in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, where he developed his knowledge of the live model by attending medical lectures in anatomy at the nearby Jefferson Medical College, witnessing operations and dissections by Doctor Samuel Gross, one of the 19th century's brilliant American surgeons.

To further his studies in art, he went to France in 1866 and enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts for three years, then going to Spain in 1869, where his studies were influenced by the 17th century paintings of [[Diego Velazquez]], [[José de Ribera]], and especially the Dutch painter [[Rembrandt]].  Rejecting the European [[Impressionism|impressionists]], he preferred those who created a bold sense of life and applied that to his own, working in the oil medium.

To further his studies in art, he went to France in 1866 and enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts for three years, then going to Spain in 1869, where his studies were influenced by the 17th century paintings of [[Diego Velazquez]], [[José de Ribera]], and especially the Dutch painter [[Rembrandt]].  Rejecting the European [[Impressionism|impressionists]], he preferred those who created a bold sense of life and applied that to his own, working in the oil medium.