Q1. What do you see in this painting?
Q2. Who is the most important figure? How did you determine which? What is he doing?
Q3. What is the reaction of onlookers?
Q4. Do you notice anything in particular about the clothing of people in the painting?
For the answers, click here.
The thumbnail image for this exercise is:
Mater Misericordiae (2020-2024) by Jennifer Trouton.
Cotton thread embroideries on linen and bespoke fabric.
Courtesy of the artist.
Note:
Women were not accepted into medical schools until the 19th century in Europe and the United States. The only exception was Italy where women had access to medical education for centuries and held prestigious university chairs. The image is a portrait of Trota, an 11th century physician and first female professor at the famous School of Medicine at Salerno in southern Italy. Her writings are considered among the most important medieval texts on women’s health. This contrasts with the experience of Dr. James Barry (1797-1865), a skilled British Army surgeon, who had to hide her identity and at autopsy was discovered to be a woman. She was Margaret Bulkeley who was born in Ireland and qualified in the University of Edinburgh.