The doctor as an artist

Abstract

Charles Bell, Francis Seymour Haden, Jean-Martin Charcot, Paul Richer, Henry Tonks and Harry Lamb were gifted draughtsmen. Some used their skills to illustrate their work, a few abandoned medicine altogether to become artists in their own right. With the exception of Haden few were able to combine an artistic and a medical career. Their medical training and their wartime experiences influenced their artistic portrayal of the wounded. Their significant contribution, however, resides in the way in which they influenced other greater artists through their teaching.

The Art of Charcot: An Outstanding Caricaturist

“…The young Jean-Martin had already shown specific artistic abilities. His father had suggested that his son should become an artistic painter [7, 8, 12, 13].…”

“…Like Charcot, a number of neuroscientists were also skilled artists and draftsmen: these include Charles Bell (1774-1842), Pierre Samuel Toussaint Fromentin-Dupeux (1786-1867), Frédéric Estre (1813-1902), Paul Richer (1849-1933), and the brothers Santiago (1852-1934) and Pedro Ramón y Cajal (1854-1950) [11][12][13][14]. The Cajals and Bell used these skills to illustrate their work [11][12][13][14]. Bell combined his varied artistic and scientific talents in detailed anatomical and surgical illustrations and paintings in several books.…”

“…Bell combined his varied artistic and scientific talents in detailed anatomical and surgical illustrations and paintings in several books. These include his 1811 text, An Idea of a New Anatomy of the Brain , as well as the first textbook on the anatomy and physiology of facial expression, entitled Essays on the Anatomy of Expression in Painting (1806) [12, 13]. Santiago Ramón y Cajal drew and studied histological slides of the nervous system in great detail; in 1891, he proposed the law of dynamic polarization, establishing that the information flow within each neuron generally moves from the dendrites toward the axon [14].…”

“…Pedro provided Santiago with all his histological preparations and made a number of his own drawings from his histological findings [11]. Henry Tonks (1862–1937), a British surgeon, used his impressive drawing ability more like Charcot, with caricatures [12, 13]. However, while Tonks dedicated more time to this area and studied in the evenings at the Westminster School of Art, Charcot was always self-taught.…”

Military doctor and management of injuries in conflict

“…Finally, it should be noted that also working place is in the conflict area, some physicians can still have a good job and present good humanistic piece of work. The world famous physician and artist, Henry Tonks, is the good example [5][6][7].…”