Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Paul-Emile Destouches: can love triumph over disease?

In this painting by Parisian artist Paul-Emile Destouches (1794-1874), a young woman visits a young man who is ill and lies in bed surrounded by his relatives. The woman hopes that her visit will cure him, and indeed the young man’s face, though pale, has brightened. But many of the figures present are already wearing black, suggesting that this may be a deathbed scene.

A young woman comes to visit a sick young man in hope that her love will cure him, surrounded by relatives Colour lithograph by LaFosse after P.E.Destouches. Credit: Wellcome CollectionCC BY

Winter 2020

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