Category: Vignettes at Large
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The Book of Life
Under the pen name of Dr. Alesha Sivatha, Dr. Arthur E. Merton published a book, The Book of Life, in which he claimed to have found a way to combine science and medicine with mysticism and religion. He broke down the human body into many parts, each with a specific purpose or designation. Consider, for…
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Waiting for the doctor
This painting evokes the desperation and exhaustion of a harrowed family seeking treatment for their child and perhaps also for the mother. The distant stare in the man’s face captures uncertainty and resignation. Perhaps he wonders if they have come too late, if the child in his arms will survive his illness. Perhaps he wonders…
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Medieval medical practice
This image is from a twelfth-century manuscript showing various medical treatments such as a doctor describing medicines to his assistant, two doctors performing a head operation, and representations of patients with cautery marks. The artwork is actually a miniature, tucked in among the words of the manuscript, adding color to each page along with illustrations…
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Travelling healers pulls a tooth
A “travelling healer” has pulled a tooth in front of a large crowd assembled to witness the event. He has advertised his profession by having a garland of teeth hang on the wall behind the scene; and is displaying the tooth as a symbol of his skill, hoping that more customers will follow. Highlighted Vignette…
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A busy doctor’s waiting room
The word “patient,” derived from the Latin “to suffer,” could be interpreted in traditional parlance as patiently enduring the torments of a disease or, less tragically but still annoying, waiting endlessly in the reception room for the arrival of the doctor. Born in Rome, Georgia, Alice Edith Rumph (1878–1978) was a painter, etcher, and art…
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Pulse and urine
This image portrays the common theme of a physician feeling the patient’s pulse and examining the urine at the bedside. It is reminiscent of other paintings, such as the one by Trophime Bigot, all made in the days when all clinical information was obtained during the doctor’s visit in the patient’s home. Winter 2020 |…
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Physicians disputing while patient suffers
Six physicians are arguing around the table over the best way to treat their patient, who is barely visible in his bedroom, presumed to be suffering without treatment. Two other pairs of physicians are disputing in the background, and a monkey is seen in the right lower corner of the painting Winter 2020 | |
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Home therapy
This illustration shows a wealthy man treated by his doctor in his home, this at a time when patients only went to hospital to die. The title indicates what his affliction must be, but the painting on the wall further illustrates how it was acquired. Winter 2020 | |