The forgotten story behind the first published retinal paintings.

KEY MESSAGES: WHAT IS KNOWN : • Helmholtz invented the ophthalmoscope in 1850 and published his observations in a monograph in 1851. However, he did not include an illustration of what he observed; • The first published retinal paintings were created in 1853 by the artistically gifted physician Adrien Christophe van Trigt.

WHAT IS NEW: • Shortly after Helmholtz's publication of the ophthalmoscope, the Amsterdam instrument maker Epkens designed and constructed a table-model ophthalmoscope that left the dominant hand free; • The ophthalmologist Donders in Utrecht recognized in Epkens' table model ophthalmoscope the opportunity to produce retinal paintings for publication purposes. He recruited the artistically skilled physician Adrien van Trigt as PhD student to carry out this work; • The collaboration of Donders, Van Trigt and Epkens resulted within 19 months following Helmholtz' monograph, in the publication of retinal paintings - a remarkably fast achievement, given that retinal photography was not yet available.