Presented by Professor Jean-Claude Theis ONZM, Emeritus Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Otago Medical School, Dunedin

This lecture will explore the relationship between art and orthopaedic surgery by analysing the close affinity between orthopaedic surgeons, painters and sculptors. They all require exceptional observational and manual skills which are acquired through apprentice-style training under the guidance of a mentor.

The knowledge of the human form or anatomy is required in both professions, which led to the birth of artist anatomists - for example, Leonardo da Vinci and Andreas Vesalius in the 16th century. Both of these artists carried out human dissections, and artists to this day are an integral part of anatomy departments. Medical illustration remains an important tool in the training of doctors and surgeons. There are however also significant differences between artists and surgeons, in the sense that surgical practice is based on scientific principles which art won’t be able to claim.

The talk also looks at the orthopaedic conditions figuring in paintings of famous artists over the centuries, while  describing the orthopaedic condition suffered by two famous painters: Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Zoom link

https://otago.zoom.us/j/99136360734?pwd=TWwzWlg0L0dCRDZXUi93MGVGQ2hjUT09

Zoom ID: 991 3636 0734
Password: 902671