Art-Science Symbiosis
by Georgina Woodworth
Art and science. Always placed opposite one another, art and science are profoundly misunderstood as being mutually exclusive when, historically, that has proven to seldom be the case. In fact, art in its various forms has generously aided science in representing information inexpressible with language alone. In the history of the study of the human body, science would be lost without art, as it would be limited to verbally describing features of the corporeal body rather than visually displaying the anatomy for itself.
The combination of art and science has lent itself to multiple purposes in both fields. One purely scientific motive was to use visual aids to better depict aspects of the body, thus providing better materials to inform and train physicians.
Such was the intention of Ibn Ilyas Mansur when he included only simple anatomical watercolors in his treatise Tashrih-i badan-i insan (“Anatomy of the Human Body” 1386). 14th century Persia was a popular locale for high science, but illustration was not yet included in anatomical study. The unprecedented images display a general representation of individual systems—such as the skeletal, circulatory, nervous, and muscular. Their lack of realism suggests that artistry and naturalism were not motivations in their creation, thus emphasizing their practical purpose in supplementing science.
Another motive encouraging artistic and scientific collaboration later emerged, as professional artists wished to work with physicians and hone their skills regarding realistically depicting the human form. It is reported that Baccio Bandinelli (1493–1560), a Florentine sculptor, was attempting to impress a possible employer when he claimed, “I will show you that I know how to dissect the brain, and also living men, as I have dissected dead ones to learn my art.” This clear case exposes that artists’ motivation for gaining anatomical knowledge was to improve their work, regardless of the media, and increase their fame. We see the traditional facade of a clean, refined artist broken by the thought of their participation in corporeal dissections. The modern conceptual space between art and science continues to narrow.
Eventually the complete symbiosis between art and science produced the historically-memorable images by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564). These scholars’ achievements simultaneously and permanently altered the study of anatomy as well as the standards of art.
Da Vinci, who was more artist than physician, would observe medical dissections in order to gain a better understanding of the structure and layering of the body’s various components and tissues. He wanted to exhibit as much realism as possible in his representations of the human form, and he’s cited as revolutionizing the study of the human body with his incorporation of detailed visual illustrations. In the words of fellow artist Giorgio Vasari, da Vinci was one of the first to “throw light on true anatomy, which up to that time had been veiled in the thick and gross shadow of ignorance.”
Vesalius’ intentions mirrored those of da Vinci but had originated from his role as a physician. He was deeply interested in dissection’s value for medical study, and he wanted to contribute to the available anatomical knowledge to enhance teaching practices.
He contracted the skills of Renaissance artists to produce the most accurate and detailed depictions of the anatomy he valued so highly. His infamous collaboration with a student of Titian, Jan Stephan Calcar, led to the construction of his monumental work De Humani Corporis Fabrica (“On the Fabric of the Human Body” 1543).
Vesalius’ efforts coincided with the invention of the printing press in the 1440s [printing press sounds], allowing his texts (and many others) to be copied and widely spread. Thus the incorporation of artistic illustrations into Vesalius’ book became prolific across Europe and created a new era in medical study.
When looking at Vesalius’ or da Vinci’s beautiful illustrations of the human form, one imagines a fastidious scholar laboring over his work [pencil scribbling]. An art studio filled with sturdy wooden easels and soft, delicate paper [pages turning]—upon which idealized images of internal anatomy are drawn [paintbrush strokes]. The artist creates final products that are clean, crisp, and very pleasing to the eye; such works appear to represent the very essence of humanity with all internal components proudly exhibited.
However, these elegant and soulful images constructed in such a quaint and calm environment fail to depict the entire story. They exclude the more physical and messy process of dissection [surgical cutting, squelching] that must be undertaken in order to produce the information later synthesized into an aesthetic display of the human body.
The interaction between how art and science perceive and depict humanity offers much more insight into the complexity of what we simply call “the body.” One perspective and its products alone belie the existence or possibility of the other, thus the emergence of collaboration between the two provided an opportunity to probe deeper into the millennia-long investigation surrounding the human body and allowed the development of such scientific and artistic inquiry to flourish.