In Art, Health and History Steph looks at the connections between art, health, and history with particular focus on the history of medicine and some supernatural, or not so supernatural, occurrences. The project also looks at popular festivities in centuries past and the customs attached to them. Have some artworks had an impact on how we talk about different illnesses today? How can certain plants, used as symbols of the seasons, help with our wellbeing and what sort of remedies and foods were made from them? What were people doing at different times of the year? And what did they think happened after death?
Plants at the Whitworth: in our Gardens, Art and in Medicine
Mistletoe: ‘Medicine’, Murder and the Festive Season. Part One.
Find out about the (mostly) not-so-romantic history of mistletoe.
Hawthorn: The Reeking May Tree
Steph discusses hawthorn, a.k.a. the May Tree, and how it has inspired ancient traditions and artists alike. Can you guess what it was believed to cure?
Pineapples: From Luxury to Kitsch and Kawaii. Part One.
Read about the history of the pineapple, from the first encounters Europeans had with the fruit to the trend for pineapple-themed décor in the past and the different ways the pineapple was used.
Hellebore: The History of a Toxic Medicinal ‘Remedy’
Learn about the toxic history of hellebores, true and false, and how they were used for medicinal purposes in the past.
Golden Flowers of Spring: Lesser Celandine
Read about lesser celandine, an often overlooked herald of spring, and the ways in which it has been used in decorative designs, literature and medicine.
Ivy: The History of a Former? Festive Favourite
Ivy often goes hand-in-hand with holly whenever we think of Christmas, but how many of us really make use of it in our festive décor these days? Find out all about the history of ivy, from decorations to its past uses in medicine.
Mindfulness
Sashiko: Simple Japanese Stitching
Steph looks at the beauty, origins and uses of sashiko; a simple and relaxing form of embroidery created in centuries past by Japan’s rural poor. Why not have a go yourself?
Hanami: Flower Viewing For Wellbeing
When was the last time you simply stopped and admired a flower, enjoying this simple and fleeting pleasure? Read all about the history of the custom of hanami.
The Supernatural
The Cock Lane Ghost: Ghostbusting in the Age of Enlightenment. Part One.
The Cock Lane Ghost: Ghostbusting in the Age of Enlightenment. Part Two.
Read about the case of the Cock Lane ghost, which provided artists like Hogarth with material. The case, which began with a young woman dying from smallpox, had London in an uproar when a story told by a dodgy landlord was printed in newspapers in 1762.
Festivals
Albrecht Dürer, the Virgin Mary and the Festive Period
Explore some of Albrecht Dürer’s engravings depicting the Virgin Mary. Read about Nuremberg’s relationship to the Virgin and find out what Dürer got up to around the festive period from shopping to dodging plague and other dangers.
‘The Pancake Woman’, Shrove Tuesday and Carnival vs Lent in Early Modern Europe
Explore the history of pancakes and the Carnival and Shrovetide celebrations of early modern Europe. Find out about what people were eating during Carnival and what they were eating during Lent, and read about some of the popular pastimes during these periods.
Injuries and Illnesses
Often absent from our screens and artistic representations the king, Henry V’s facial scar would have been very noticeable. The story of how he got it is quite impressive.
Steph takes a look at the darker undertones of some of William Hogarth’s works, on display in our 2018 Prints of Darkness exhibition, and what they and other artworks can tell us about attitudes to a disease that ravaged early modern Europe.
A Place Between The Trees 