Introduction. This extended essay will be focused on the relationship between art (namely fine art) and medicine. The character of this relationship changed multiple times. Initially, painting (mainly engraving) was essential for description of the disease and its consequences, later it became a scientific instrument for anatomists. Previously, fine arts helped medical scientists to learn and discover. Today, medical information and files are often used by artists to express their own ideas. The main research objective will be to explore the evolution of these relations, and their possible future outcomes. I will also try to extrapolate the discovered trend to the future. Presumably, while the digital arts create new opportunities, it could become a scientific instrument once again.
1. Middle Ages: medical science and religion. In the first section I would like to describe several aspects of medieval medical illustration: Christian motives, medical astrology, and figurative perception. In Medieval Europe, medicine had a strong connection with religion, magic, and astronomy. Medical science of the time has its roots in Greek tradition, which associated human body with the four elements (fire, water, earth, and air), and Arabic medicine, which was strongly influenced by astrology. Monasteries and different Christian communities were famous for providing medical treatment. This treatment obviously implied strong believe in divine healing and demonic origin of diseases. Therefore, medical treatises often depicted supernatural forces affecting the process of healing. Ancient studies of astrology derived from Arabic treatises became an integral part of the medieval everyday medical practice. By the end of 1500s, physicians across Europe were required to perform astrological calculations before starting their medical procedures. During this period, pictures of “microcosmic man” became extremely popular. They displayed in detail how the Moon and other celestial bodies affect different parts of human body.
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2. Renaissance and the art of anatomy. The heyday of anatomy came approximately at XV – XVII century. At the time, medicine was connected with science rather than religion. Therefore, medical illustration accurately depicted the structure of human body and processes occurring in it. It required outstanding scientific and artistic talents. The art itself shifted from metaphorical perception to more realistic and detailed presentation of both nature and the human body. However, the precise picture of the human body today differs significantly from the typical medical illustration of that time. It could be noticed in the postures of models and the way subjects are represented. This difference is worth further investigation. The second section will be dedicated to the main features of the Renaissance anatomic illustration. I will describe the most famous masters of portraiture such as Michelangelo, Rubens, and Titian. Substantial part will be dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci as the most recognized anatomical artist. The illustrative material will be retrieved from “Historical Anatomies on the Web”, a digital collection of medical images.
3. Medicine and contemporary art. Previous material represented art as an essential tool for medicine. The second part (starting from this section) represents medicine as a source of an artist’s inspiration. Contemporary art is given unprecedented opportunities; the volume of information (and an increasing volume of storage media) available in addition to freedom of expression created most peculiar ideas and works of art. Anatomy as a subject is presented in fine arts, design, illustration, street art, and even in toy manufacturing. Anatomic accuracy in art have multiple purposes. In social advertising it is used to show severe consequences of bad habits or represent health statistics in more entertaining way. In design, peculiar patterns of cells or body tissues inspire to create new textures and ornaments. Body parts (like heart or skull) became attributes of the modern pop culture and went through numerous artistic transformations.
Some modern artists try to convey the message of fragility and beauty using anatomy in depiction and sculpture. Anatomic sculptures by Damien Hurst could serve as an example. Another popular concept – to transfer something apparently disgusting (like blood and other body fluids) into something beautiful. For that purpose, an artist could make paintings and sculptures from an unusual material (like dehydrated skin or clotted blood). Contemporary anatomic material for education purposes could be an art piece. World famous Body World exhibitions gather unique anatomic specimens not only to display the functioning of our organs and inner systems but also to show that each body is beautiful in its own way.
4. Future opportunities. This part is dedicated to prominent visual technologies applied in medicine. Microscopic imaging technologies provided new opportunities to explore invisible inner parts and observe multiple processes simultaneously. Such technologies as x-rays, close-ups, and macro photography created greater ability to discover. Other digital instruments created an opportunity to display. That would include advanced genetic analysis to reconstruct the appearance of an ancient man or visual forecast representing the influence of different factors on the human body. Therefore, modern art creates new opportunities for research and education. Remy Potier reaches an interesting conclusion when investigating medical imaging and arts in everyday life. Due to medical imaging, we perceive our own body as a set of specific characteristics measured by medical instruments. For instance, words like “my scan”, “my ultrasound”, etc. became quite usual for us (Potier, 12). It is interesting what as usual for us in the future as these technologies are today.
Conclusion. In brief, this extended essay will be divided into four chronological parts: 1) Middle Ages (divine medicine), 2) Renaissance (the art of anatomic illustration), 3) medicine in modern art, 4) visual art in modern medicine.
- Bambach, C. “Anatomy in the Renaissance.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 2002, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/anat/hd_anat.htm. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Bovey, A. “Medicine, Diagnosis, and Treatment in the Middle Ages.” British Library, www.bl.uk/the-middle-ages/articles/medicine-diagnosis-and-treatment-in-the-middle-ages. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Dover, C. “Doctors without Borders: Exploring the Connection between Art and Medicine.” The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 6 January 2016, www.guggenheim.org/blogs/checklist/doctors-without-borders-exploring-connections-art-medicine. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Goldiner, S. “Medicine in the Middle Ages.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2012, www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/medm/hd_medm.htm. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Historical Anatomies on the Web. US National Library of Medicine, 11 June 2003, www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/historicalanatomies/intro.html. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Potier, R. “Medical Imaging and Modern Art: Encounters over a Virtual Body.” Recherches en Psychanalyse, February 2011, pp. 131-139.
- Ruiz, V. “The spelling Art of Human Anatomy.” TED, Nov. 2015, www.ted.com/talks/vanessa_ruiz_the_spellbinding_art_of_human_anatomy#t-665751. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Ruiz, V. Street Anatomy. 2007, http://streetanatomy.com. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
- Schmitz, M. Anatomy & Physiotherapy. Austrian Physiotherapy Association, 2010, www.anatomy-physiotherapy.com/en. Accessed 27 Mar. 2017.
