Tag: Summer 2016
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Giorgione and the plague
Giorgione’s painting Il Tramonto (The Sunset) is as mysterious as most of the other details of the artist’s life. Painted around 1506, it was lost and rediscovered in 1933 in a villa near Venice, in very poor condition, damaged, and with holes in it. Over time it underwent three restorations. The holes were covered with…
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Paradise Lost – John Milton
Before his final expulsion from paradise Adam was taken to the highest mountain in the garden, where the archangel Michael showed him what misery the future will bring to man: Immediately a placeBefore his eyes appeared, sad, noisome, dark;A lazar-house it seemed; wherein were laidNumbers of all diseased; all maladiesOf ghastly spasm, or racking…
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The art of breastfeeding
Bojana CokićZajecar, Serbia Breastfeeding is the greatest and most precious gift of nature that a mother can give to her child. It is the foundation of life, a healthy start strengthening the bond between mother and child. The mother feels warmth and love when she embraces her child. The child feels serenity, joy, and warmth…
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Saint Apollonia, patron saint of odontology
Anna LantzStockholm, Sweden Saint Apollonia was from a Greek family and lived in Alexandria, where she was martyred in the year 249 for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. On having her teeth pulled out and jaw shattered, she threw herself into the pyre that had been lit for her.1 During the Middle Ages she was…
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The village’s physician
Alexandru SonocSibiu, Romania In a peasant house a sick woman lies in bed. An old physician is writing a prescription on a table on which there are already three small bottles of medicine. He is surrounded by the patient’s relatives, concerned but full of hope, all wearing traditional peasant costumes. An old man and a…
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Francisco Goya’s “black period”
Alejandro GoyriCarlos Valverde-RMéxico City, México In his so-called “black period,” Francisco Goya created a series of oil paintings, engravings, and drawings that depict witches and mentally or physically disabled individuals. This is particularly clear in the Witches’ Sabbath (1819-1823), in which the facial expression of most of the characters (especially of the young seated woman…
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Lord Howard Florey and the use of visual art in medicine
Vincent CracoliciChicago, Illinois, United States Art and medicine: Skills for creative problem solving Despite similar training, all physicians are not equally skilled in recognizing and solving clinical problems. Those who have been remarkably innovative in their specialty often share similar characteristics with one another. Though gifted in the technical aspects of their fields, many of…
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William Sanger – The artist as health activist
Markley BoyerGlenmoore, Pennsylvania, United States Margaret Sanger (1879-1966), birth control advocate, founder of Planned Parenthood and acknowledged leader in the quest for female reproductive freedom was one of the principal health and women’s right’s figures of the last century. Rebellious, unconventional, and with often unyielding positions on the right of a woman to have control…
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A Simple Cure
Huy PhanAurora, Colorado, USA On the wards, time is limited.Always writing notes, rounding, learning.There is seldom a chance to sit and talkWith the people called patients. But from time to time,Notes are completed before noon,Rounds are productive and efficient,Teaching sessions are started and finished. With an hour to spare,And patients free from sticks and draws,A…
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Age and aging
Myron WeinerDallas, Texas Age, a mere number, is neither enemy nor friend. Aging Stirs us from primordium Though maturation To our universal fate. Age measures our finitude Aging, our fortitude. Adding strength when young Stripping when old Of sensibilities Of strength Leaving only lassitude. The years are not to be feared, Rather, our decrepitude. Age…