The event featured three presentations given by members of the WashU and St. Louis community. Each presentation served to help contextualize Frederik Ruysch’s work by looking at the history of anatomy, print engravings, and similar topics.
Also called mesmerism, animal magnetism reflected the zeitgeist of the era — a method of treatment that relied on harmony with nature and was dependent on unseen forces.
The portrayal of anatomy is not necessarily objective. Anatomical atlases are products of both the individuals and the culture that produced them, and this is reflected in their pages. In some instances, anatomical texts show an association with eroticism, particularly regarding the female form. One of the most well-known instances of this is Charles Estienne’s [Read more]
The collection includes approximately 7,000 works, including major texts in neuroscience and neurology.