Socio-communicative aspects of the representation of disease symptoms in Renaissance art

Modern historical research devoted to the development of medical science and the art of healing increasingly involves the analysis of sociocultural and sociocommunicative aspects, which become part of historical analysis. The article examines the relationship between fine art and human anatomy as an element of sociocultural translation (communication) of knowledge in the history of medicine, in particular anatomy. The art of the Renaissance, primarily portraiture from life, copying the image of a specific person, can reflect signs of his health, symptoms of illness, and medical knowledge in historical retrospect is actually part of the culture of society. The artists often turned out to be medically observant, accurate in small details. In this study, the authors show several examples of the reflection of specific medical pathologies in paintings and come to the conclusion that works of art can transmit information about the state of health of the depicted person, the presence of clinical manifestations of diseases captured by the brush of an artist but probably not yet known and understood by the doctors of that epoque.