Tongue_DESMA9 Medicine + Technology + Art

 Artists have always been fascinated by the human body. In works like the Vitruvian Man and Écorché (A Dead or Moribund Man in Bust Length, Da Vinci “believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe.” 




While most artists limited their investigations to the surface of the body and observed live, nude subjects, some went so far as to produce écorchés, corpses in which the artist would peel back successive layers of muscle, tendons, and bones, all in order to gain a better idea of how to portray the human body in their art. 



Technology has evolved from slicing the body and looking with the human eye but evolving into using instruments like x-rays that give us a closer look at the human body that Renaissance artists could not dream of.  There is now a variety of tests doctors can employ to find out what is going on within the human body. In today’s society, artists like Virgil Wong explores the evolving states of human health through their art. He believes “Medicine helps us live longer lives. Art is about why we live.”


 I did not know that plastic surgery evolved from war. However, after listening to the lecture video it makes sense why reconstructive work was needed for veterans who returned from war. Due to the advancement in technology so came the advancement of the destruction of the human body and the need for its reconstruction. It goes hand in hand with form, something that artists are intrigued by as shown by Leonardo Da Vinci and Virgil Wong. 


Art in context. “The ‘Vitruvian Man’ Da Vinci - Why Was the ‘Vitruvian Man’ Created?” Artincontext.org, 31 Mar. 2022,https://artincontext.org/the-vitruvian-man-da-vinci/.

“Art.” Virgil Wong, 8 Sept. 2020, https://www.virgilwong.com/art/. 

Editorial, Artsy, and Karen Chernick. “The Renaissance Tradition of Using Cadavers in Drawing Classes Is Still Alive.” Artsy, 2 July 2018, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-renaissance-tradition-cadavers-drawing-classes-alive.

“History of Medicine: Dr. Roentgen's Accidental X-Rays.” History of Medicine: X-Ray Imaging | Columbia Surgery, https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2015/09/17/history-medicine-dr-roentgen-s-accidental-x-rays. 

Magazine, Smithsonian. “The Anatomy of Renaissance Art.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 18 Oct. 2010, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-anatomy-of-renaissance-art-36887285/. 

“The Birth of Plastic Surgery.” National Army Museum, https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/birth-plastic-surgery. 

“The Study of Anatomy (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/early-renaissance1/beginners-renaissance-florence/a/the-study-of-anatomy.

The Vitruvian Man - by Leonardo Da Vinci, https://www.leonardodavinci.net/the-vitruvian-man.jsp. 

 

 

 

 

 


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