Since ancient times people have depended on medical practitioners to enhance
life, to treat illness and injuries, and to help reduce pain and suffering.
The scientifically based discipline that we know today stands beside diverse
traditions, belief systems, and bodies of medical knowledge that have evolved
in fascinating ways across cultures and continents. Throughout this history,
successive generations have created artistic representations of these varied
aspects of medicine, illustrating instruction manuals, documenting treatments,
and creating works of art that enable individuals to express their feelings
and ideas about medicine, health, and illness. From ancient wall paintings and
tomb carvings to sculpture, installations, and digitally created artworks, the
results are extraordinary and pay tribute to how medicine has affected our
lives and the lives of our ancestors. Drawing on the remarkable holdings of
the Wellcome Collection in London, The Art of Medicine offers a unique gallery
of rarely seen paintings, artifacts, drawings, prints, and extracts from
manuscripts and manuals to provide a fascinating visual insight into our
knowledge of the human body and mind, and how both have been treated with
medicine. Julie Anderson, Emm Barnes, and Emma Shackleton take readers on a
fascinating visual journey through the history of medical practice, exploring
contemporary biomedical images, popular art, and caricature alongside
venerable Chinese scrolls, prehistoric Mesoamerican drawings, paintings of the
European Renaissance, medieval Persian manuscripts, and more. The result is a
rare and remarkable visual account of what it was and is to be human in
sickness and health. Read more Read less