Research announcement: "Peau d’Art" project

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Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 – 1294)
Portrait of an Old Man and a Young Boy, circa 1490
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Iconodiagnosis: Rhynophima (progressive, more or less inflammatory acquired hypertrophy of the integument of the nose)
See the image in its page

Dear Sir/Madam,

On behalf of the International Society of Iconodiagnostics (ISIS), I ask for the help of curators from all museums. ISIS is a learned society dedicated to advancing the field of iconodiagnosis, which involves the retrospective medical analysis of artworks to identify clinical signs suggestive of medical disorders and diseases [1].

ISIS brings together doctors, pharmacists and skin scientists who are interested in art and/or study art history. The aim of our "Peau d’Art" project is to draw up an inventory of works of art with skin anomalies (nevi, spots, wounds, etc.). While famous paintings have been studied [2], we are convinced that all the world’s museums, whether local or national, house lesser-known or even unknown works of art depicting various skin diseases.

We would like to ask for your help in identifying works of art in your respective museums that may represent "skin disorders". If you are aware of such works, we would be grateful if you could provide us with a general photograph of the work, a close-up image of the pathological area and the corresponding caption. This information will enable us to carry out an in-depth analysis and propose a diagnosis, including any pseudo-pathology [3].

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are unsure about any aspect of your project.
Please contact us at peaurigami@gmail.com

La Tribune de l’Art

Footnotes

[1Charlier P, Perciaccante A, Nerlich AG, et al. Iconodiagnosis: Guidelines and recommendations. Ethics Med Pub Healthy 2023; Dec 31: 100951

[2Dechelette C, Charlier P. Iconodiagnosis of dermatoses, study of skin care through the arts and contribution to the education of semiology, Ethics, Medicine and Public Health 28 (2023) 100896

[3Charlier P, Donell S, Lippi D, et al. Why paleomedicine is useful for Medical Education. Postgrad Med J 2021 Feb; 97(1144): 75-76 ; Mukunda N, Moghbeli N, Rizzo A, et al. Visual art instruction in medical education: a narrative review. Med Educ Online. 2019 Dec; 24(1): 1558657 ; Haidet P, Jarecke J, Adams NE, et al. A guiding framework to maximize the power of the arts in medical education: a systematic review and metasynthesis. Med Educ. 2016 Mar; 50(3): 320-31 ; Deps P, Charlier P. A Crouzon syndrome from the Classic period of Maya civilization? Surg Radiol Anat. 2019 Dec; 41(12): 1525-1527. doi: 10.1007/s00276-019-02287-8. Epub 2019 Jul 26. PMID: 31346682 ; Charlier P, Deps PD. Possible new evidence of pre-Columbian tuberculosis in America: Pott disease in a prehistoric Mexican statue. Tuberculosis (Edinb). 2019 May; 116: 35-36. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2019.03.011. Epub 2019 Apr 12. PMID: 31153516.

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