Medicine and Art discusses the evolution of
medicine and the changing role of the physician in society as depicted through
art. The book is organized in rough chronological order, beginning with a
copper statue of Imhotep of Egypt and a vessel featuring Hippocrates of Greece.
Artworks depicting Ayurvedic, Tibetan, Persian, Chinese, North American Indian,
and African medicine are also included, but the main focus of this book is Western
medicine as portrayed in European and American paintings. These paintings take
the reader through history, from nuns caring for the sick in the 1300s to quacks
attracting gullible customers in the 1600s to the use of the stethoscope and
the start of vaccination. The final artwork is a 2001 embroidery piece by
Louise Riley depicting the link between patient and medical researcher.
The
book features 53 images that are organized into 53 bi-fold layouts, with a written
description and discussion of the artwork on the left hand page and an image of
the artwork on the right hand page. These images are generously sized, taking
up much of the page, and the vast majority are in color. Concise paragraphs explain
the image by providing both medical and art historical context. Alan E.H. Emery and Marcia L.H.
Emery are the husband and wife team who compiled this book. Alan E.H. Emery is
a distinguished British neurologist, medical genetics researcher, and amateur oil
painter. Marcia L.H. Emery is a librarian and a psychologist.
