Details

EXCLUSIVE WEBINAR | “At the Altar of Medicine: Medical Secrets in Medieval and Renaissance Altarpieces” 

Presented by Dr. Jeremy Wasser
with Additional Commentary by Dr. Rocky Ruggiero

Medieval and Renaissance altarpieces found in churches throughout Europe and in museum collections worldwide, represent some of the most beautiful and profound examples of religious art.  What may not be obvious, is that along with a great deal of religious symbology many altarpieces also bear direct or indirect representations of disease. Some, like the magnificent early 16th century Isenheim Altar painted by Matthias Grünewald, can be said to be principally about medicine. The Isenheim Altar and others like it were specifically commissioned for display in monasteries belonging to hospital orders or in hospital chapels. Many other altarpieces allude to issues of medical morbidity and mortality if you know where to look and how to interpret the signs!

Join physiologist and medical historian, Dr. Jeremy Wasser, for a closer look at altarpieces that tell a medical as well as a spiritual or liturgical story. Of course, we will discuss Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece focusing on the botanical and medicinal properties of the plants depicted in the panel illustrating the desert meeting of St. Anthony the Great and St. Paul the Hermit. Learn what the healers of that time believed about the curative powers of these plants and discover what modern medical science has to tell us about them.

We will also focus on less well-known altarpieces created by both southern and northern European artists that contain overt or hidden medical meanings and associations. Some of these also contain serendipitous illustrations of physiology and disease. Discover the imagery and symbology that was used to transmit a medical message in these works of art and learn why the artists and those who commissioned the altarpieces wanted these messages embedded in them. You will never look at an altarpiece in quite the same way again!

The webinar will include a 45-minute lecture followed by 15-minutes of Q&A.

Please note:

• Your participation is confirmed once you have purchased your ticket. You will receive the Zoom link to join the presentation circa 30 minutes before the start time.
• VIDEO RECORDING of the webinar will be available for unlimited streaming at your convenience for 7 days after the event.

Lecturer

Jeremy Wasser, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Physiology at Texas A&M University. Dr. Wasser serves as the program leader for study abroad programs in Germany, focused on the history of medicine, providing future doctors and biomedical science researchers with a foundation in physiology and the medical humanities. Along with his scientific publications he has written and lectured on the culture of disease, the history of public health and health policy, the history of human experimentation, and the role of physiological education in contemplative practices. Additionally, Wasser’s training in opera and theatre inform the unique personas that he creates for lectures in the history of medicine and performances related to science and storytelling.