The English Virtuoso: Art, Medicine and Antiquarianism in the Age of Empiricism (review)

This fascinating and eminently readable book is a study of the role of the medical profession in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in art collecting and appreciation. Although the book deals with the antiquarian side of the doctor’s role and is written by a professor of art history, it also illuminates the important role of art in medicine at the time of the Restoration and the founding of the Royal Society. The “English Virtuoso” can be seen, as described fully in the introduction, as a term of ridicule for those men who collected objects but had no concept of the real world. However, Samuel Johnson later described a virtuoso as “a man skilled in antique or natural curiosities; a man studious of painting, statuary or architecture” (7), many of whom at this time happened to be in the medical profession or members of the Royal Society. The obvious area of similarity is in anatomical studies and drawings and the collection of various anatomical objects by doctors traveling in Europe and especially in Italy which is described in this book. An example was the Anatomical Tables acquired by John Evelyn in Padua and donated to the Royal Society, which are now displayed at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Similar tables are also held by the Royal College of Physicians in London.

Perhaps the best illustration of an “English Virtuoso” is the portrait of Sir Charles Scarburgh featured on page 30 of the book and which was painted about 1650. Sir Charles, a friend of William Harvey, sits surrounded by representations of his “interests” which include the ruins of Rome, several geometrical figures, a zodiacal globe and a book with one of the illustrations from Vesalius’s anatomical textbook. The book describes the portrait and other author’s reactions to it which are varied and dismissive. Indeed I would suggest that to get an appreciation of this book, one should sit in the “marble” as it is termed at the Royal College of Physicians in London and just look around at the portraits that are displayed there, many of which appear in this book and include that of Sir Charles Scarburgh.

The book deals in depth with many of the publications, some straight translations of European books, which were attributed at that time to members of the medical profession. It also dips into the lives of Sir Christopher Wren and Robert Hooke, both members of the Royal Society and interested in medicine and both of whom had architectural involvements in medical buildings.

One of the areas of interest is the chapter dedicated to Don Quixote and the concept of quackery. Famously Sir Thomas Sydenham, when asked by a student which books he should read, suggested Don Quixote was all he needed. Hanson addresses all the reasons why Sydenham should have chosen that particular book and the fact that it was hugely popular at the time. The character of Quixote who lived in a world of historical texts when dealing with the real world may have reflected the thoughts of many of the population when looking at the habits of the “English Virtuosi.” There is also an interesting discussion on the word “empirical” which is now used in a scientific way but at that time an “empiric” was another term for quack.

The book ends with a chapter on Richard Mead and his many accomplishments as a medical professional but also as a major collector of antiquities and a patron of the arts. He exemplifies the English Virtuoso and at the time was a major figure in society and at the English court. His house in Great Ormond Street...