Art and Anatomy in Western Culture
LINGNAN UNIVERSITY
HONG KONG (HK) // MONDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2019
THE SEMINAR INTENDS TO EXAMINE THE ROLE OF ANATOMY IN WESTERN CULTURE AND TO POINT OUT HOW MUCH THIS HAS INFLUENCED THE VISION OF THE WORLD UP TO THE PRESENT DAY, INVOLVING ART, SCIENCE, AND SPIRITUALITY. FROM THE PRESERVATION OF THE BODY OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, TO THE CULT OF CHRISTIAN RELICS IN MEDIEVAL TIMES, TO THE FUNDAMENTAL STAGE OF THE RENAISSANCE WITH THE FIRST ANATOMICAL STUDIES AND THE BIRTH OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND MODERN MEDICINE, THE PATH TRACED WILL FOCUS ON THE CONTRIBUTION TO THESE STUDIES OF ITALIAN ANATOMICAL CEROPLASTY, IN PARTICULAR OF THE BOLOGNESSE SCHOOL AND ITS REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN PATHOLOGIES AND MALFORMATIONS.
MEMENTO MORI AND VANITAS, THE MACABRE AND THE GROTESQUE, THE MONSTER: RECURRING THEMES IN THE CLASSICAL ARTISTIC TRADITION, STILL EXTREMELY CURRENT, WHERE ANATOMY IS SEEN AS A METAPHOR FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH. HINTS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH WILL BE OFFERED BY IDENTIFYING A SELECTION OF CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS WHO DEAL WITH THE INFINITE REFERENCES TO THE ANATOMICAL UNIVERSE.
