In 1901, the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens proclaimed in a letter to Will Low, Health-is the thing! Though recently diagnosed with intestinal cancer, Saint-Gaudens was revitalized by recreational sports, having realized midcareer there is something else in life besides the four walls of an ill-ventilated studio. The Medicine of Art puts such moments center stage in order to consider the role of health and illness in the way art was produced and consumed. Not merely beautiful or entertaining objects, works by Gilded-Age artists such as John Singer Sargent, Abbott Thayer, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens are shown to function as balm for the ill, providing relief from physical suffering and pain. Art did so by blunting the edges of contagious disease through a process of visual translation. In painting, for instance, hacking coughs, bloody sputum, and bodily enervation were recast as signs of spiritual elevation and refinement for the tuberculous, who were shown with a pale, chalky pallor that signalled rarefied beauty rather than an alarming indication of death. Works of art thus redirected the experience of illness in an era prior to the life-saving discoveries that would soon become hallmarks of modern medical science to offer an alternate therapy. The first study to address the place of organic disease-cancer, tuberculosis, syphilis-in the life and work of Gilded-Age artists, this book looks at how well-known works of art were marked by disease and argues that art itself functioned in medicinal terms for artists and viewers in the late 19th century.
A renowned diagnostician shares stories of his patients and explores the importance of the human factor in medicine. In The Art of Medicine, Toronto Western Hospital’s internist Dr. Herbert Ho Ping Kong draws on his vast dossier of personal cases and five decades as a clinician to examine the core principles of a patient-centered approach to diagnosis and treatment. While HPK, as he is fondly known, recognizes and applauds the many invaluable innovations in medical technology, he makes the point that as disease and its management grow increasingly complex, physicians must learn to develop an arsenal of more basic skills, actively using the arts of seeing, hearing, palpation, empathy, and advocacy to provide a more humane and holistic form of care. Aimed at medical practitioners, aspiring doctors, or anyone interested in health and medicine, this book also contains interviews with more than a dozen of HPK’s patients, as well as short essays that explore the thinking of his professional colleagues on the art of medicine.
Lavishly illustrated and beautifully presented 53 colour illustrations of art Marvel at the A4 size pictures in a hardback volume Read the stories behind them Alan and Marcia Emery present a superb collection of over fifty pieces of art, reflecting the physician's role in society and the relationship between doctor and patient. Medicine and Art contains an international selection of artworks, tracing both the history of art and the development of medicine from the Ancient Greeks to the present day, illustrating changing perceptions and applications of medicine, through varied styles and artistic media. Each work of art is accompanied by a short essay describing the history of the artist and the subject of the artwork. The full colour illustrations and detailed Appendix of further artworks depicting specific medical conditions make this book a unique treasure trove of information for all who share the authors' love of art, history and medicine. This intriguing book evolved from a series of articles written and researched by Alan Emery about art and medicine in Clinical Medicine, the journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London. In addition to his life-long love of art, Professor Alan EH Emery has written over twenty books and 300 scientific articles during his long career in medical genetics. Marcia LH Emery shares her husband's love of art and history. She qualified in psychology in the UK and later obtained qualifications in library science at Case Western Reserve University, USA.
In recent decades, both medical humanities and medical history have emerged as rich and varied sub-disciplines. Medicine, Health and the Arts is a collection of specially commissioned essays designed to bring together different approaches to these complex fields. Written by a selection of established and emerging scholars, this volume embraces a breadth and range of methodological approaches to highlight not only developments in well-established areas of debate, but also newly emerging areas of investigation, new methodological approaches to the medical humanities and the value of the humanities in medical education. Divided into five sections, this text begins by offering an overview and analysis of the British and North American context. It then addresses in-depth the historical and contemporary relationship between visual art, literature and writing, performance and music. There are three chapters on each art form, which consider how history can illuminate current challenges and potential future directions. Each section contains an introductory overview, addressing broad themes and methodological concerns; a case study of the impact of medicine, health and well-being on an art form; and a case study of the impact of that art form on medicine, health and wellbeing. The underlining theme of the book is that the relationship between medicine, health and the arts can only be understood by examining the reciprocal relationship and processes of exchange between them. This volume promises to be a welcome and refreshing addition to the developing field of medical humanities. Both informative and thought provoking, it will be important reading for students, academics and practitioners in the medical humanities and arts in health, as well as health professionals, and all scholars and practitioners interested in the questions and debates surrounding medicine, health and the arts.
The relationship between art, medicine and surgery has always been a fertile source of discussion and debate. This book, like its predecessor Medicine and Art, evolved from a series of articles written by Alan EH Emery on art and medicine in Clinical Medicine, the journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London. In this volume, however, the authors have concentrated their attention on treatment not only in medicine but also in surgery. Each artwork, reproduced in full colour, is accompanied by an essay tracing the history of medicine and surgery from Ancient Egypt to the present day. The essays describe the relevance of each work of art and also details the artists themselves making this book an invaluable resource and a unique treasure trove of information for all who share the authors' love of art, history, medicine and surgery. This beautifully produced book will be a source of amusement and interest for everyone with a passion for art, or a fascination for the development of medicine over the centuries. Within the book are 65 illustrations from many well-known, and less well-known artists and illustrators including works by Susan Macfarlane Toulouse-Lautrec Otto Dix Hans Holbein the Younger Leonardo da Vinci Francesco Goya Hieronymus Bosch, and many more. The eagerly awaited follow-up to Medicine and Art by the same authors. Here is a second installment of intriguing pieces of carefully selected art with meticulously researched commentary - another superbly produced volume to treasure. An ideal gift for a friend or colleague, or simply a delightful addition to your own personal library, Surgical and Medical Treatment in Art will be a treasured and much referenced friend in years to come. Achieved Highly Commended in New Non-Clinical Book category of RSM & Society of Authors Book Awards Winner of Best Illustrated Medical Book and achieved Highly Commended in Basis of Medicine Category, British Medical Association Book Awards BMA Judges Comments: This book has high quality illustrations and production with details on the painting and artist in appropriate context. Helpful resources for further study are given at the back of the book. It's a useful reference point for anyone interested in art and medicine - a beautiful series of essays on art history, which is used to illustrate artists' views of health, healing and treatment, especially using surgery.
Diseases and injuries were major concerns for ancient Egyptians. This book, featuring some sixty-four objects from the Metropolitan Museum, discusses how both practical and magical medicine informed Egyptian art and for the first time reproduces and translates treatments described in the spectacular Edwin Smith Papyrus.
The ancient Greeks used the term catharsis for the cleansing of both the body by medicine and the soul by art. In this inspiring book, internationally renowned cardiologist Andrzej Szczeklik draws deeply on our humanistic heritage to describe the artistry and the mystery of being a doctor. Moving between examples ancient and contemporary, mythological and scientific, Catharsis explores how medicine and art share common roots and pose common challenges. The process of diagnosis, for instance, belongs to a world of magic and metaphor; the physician must embrace it like a poem or painting, with particular alertness and keen receptivity. Speculation on ways to slow aging through genetics, meanwhile, draws directly on the dream of immortality that artists and poets have nourished through the ages. And the concept of catharsis itself has made its way from the writings of Aristotle to today's growing interest in the benefits of music to health, especially in newborns. As Szczeklik explores such subjects as the mysteries of the heart rhythm, the secret history of pain relief, the enigmatic logic of epidemics, near-death or out-of-body experiences, and many more, he skillfully weaves together classical literature, the history of medicine, and moving anecdotes from his own clinical experiences. The result is a life-affirming book that will enrich the healing work of patients and doctors alike and make an invaluable contribution to our still-expanding vision of the art of medicine.