SHM Dissection Fridge magnet

Exclusive to Surgeons’ Hall Museums, a magnet featuring the Dissection of a Malefactor by A. van der Groes c. 1700.

Painted in 1709 by Dutch artist Adriaen van der Groes, this scene shows a body being dissected. The central figure is probably Scottish physician Archibald Pitcairne and the other characters are likely to be portraits of other medical men of the time. There are a variety of symbolic features in the painting that suggest it is also a ‘memento mori’, a reminder of death, such as the hourglass resting on the body and death standing on the right-hand pillar.

This painting can be seen in one of the first cases when entering the History of Surgery Museum.

Details

Size: H 5.5cm x W 8 cm