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Rembrandt's doctors
Philippe Abastado1, Denis Chemla
1Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, Service du Pr Fabiani, Histoire de la Médecine, Université René Descartes, Paris, France.
Medical Humanities
|May 16, 2013
Summary
This paper reviews diagnostic hypotheses about Rembrandt
Area of Science:
- Art History
- Medical Humanities
- Art Analysis
Background:
- Physicians have analyzed Rembrandt's self-portraits for potential medical conditions.
- Debate exists regarding skin diseases, hypothyroidism, Horton's disease, and psychological traits in Rembrandt.
- The self-portraits offer a unique view of the aging process.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize diagnostic hypotheses about Rembrandt's health based on his self-portraits.
- To explore the intersection of art, medicine, and historical analysis.
Main Methods:
- Review of published medical and art historical analyses of Rembrandt's self-portraits.
- Examination of visual evidence within the self-portraits for signs of illness.
- Discussion of diagnostic challenges in interpreting artistic representations.
Main Results:
- Numerous diagnostic hypotheses have been proposed over time.
- Interpreting subtle visual cues as symptoms is complex.
- The self-portraits provide a rich source for medical-artistic inquiry.
Conclusions:
- Rembrandt's self-portraits continue to inspire medical and art historical debate.
- Visual analysis of artworks can generate medical hypotheses, albeit with limitations.
- The study of self-portraits offers insights into both artistic representation and human health over time.
