Carin Berkowitz’s speech last Monday was about the relationship between art and anatomy, and that to understand a science it is often important to understand art.\u00a0 Professor Berkowitz discussed Charles Bell’s beginning as a professor in London, a city where becoming a doctor was easy and those who came out of medical school there did not receive the same level of respect as those who went to school at some of the more elite, better renowned schools of the smaller towns and cities of Great Britain.<\/p>\n
One of the aspects of the talk I found most interesting was the part of the discussion that focused on the importance Bell placed in not just looking at real, physical specimens, but illustrations of parts of the body when studying anatomy.\u00a0 Bell was an illustrator himself, and he believed that the pictures in the book showed his students details of the body that they could not see when simply looking a dissected body or body part.\u00a0 He felt this way for a few reasons.\u00a0 For one, it was hard to acquire dissected bodies, and in their place sometimes needed to use drawings instead of the real thing.\u00a0 Another major reason is that when observing a cadaver, it is not always easy for a student to know exactly what they are looking at.\u00a0 A dissected body can sometimes be a bit messy, making it hard to identify certain body parts.\u00a0 By supplementing this physical hands on learning with drawings, he made it easier for his students to learn about the different parts of the body.<\/p>\n
In the same vein as this, I also found the actual content of his illustrations to be extremely interesting.\u00a0 One of the most well known aspects of Bell’s illustrations was that he gave those who decided to donate their bodies to his studies dignity in his works.\u00a0 One example of this was the drawing of a man of whom his skin was pulled back revealing the interior of his torso.\u00a0 Instead of simply drawing the dead man’s face as it sat, he drew a cloth covering the mans face as a way to hide his identity and give him a final sense of dignity.\u00a0 Similarly, when he did draw the face of his cadavers he often showed them with dignified expressions and in natural, human positions.\u00a0 Bell’s brother, on the other hand, who was also an anatomist, drew the illustrations of his subjects with the expression of someone who had died on their faces, with their bodies and skeletons often being held up by hooks like slabs of meat at a butcher shop.\u00a0 Obviously, no one wants their final depiction to be one that makes them look undignified or inhuman.\u00a0 Bell made sure that he respected his subjects and that the people who studied his books knew that those who had donated their body to this study were people of great dignity.<\/p>\n
Bell’s teachings had a lasting impact in the field of anatomy.\u00a0 For example, medical students at Harvard must take art courses in order to receive their diploma.\u00a0 This relationship between art and anatomy is one that has and will continue to evolve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Carin Berkowitz’s speech last Monday was about the relationship between art and anatomy, and that to understand a science it is often important to understand art.\u00a0 Professor Berkowitz discussed Charles Bell’s beginning as a professor in London, a city where becoming a doctor was easy and those who came out of medical school there did … <\/p>\n