Category: Psychology, Linguistics & Cognitive Science, Image, United States, Maryland
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Display of Goya Prints Featured at the NLM Thirteen prints by Francisco Goya (1746-1828) , a Spanish painter who stands among the first modern artists, are on display at the National Library of Medicine. Although Goya held a position as court painter to Spain's King Charles IV, he often mocked the powerful in his paintings and satirized Spain's government and church. His depictions of hospital patients, torture chambers, the poor, and people in complex psychological states, transformed the unmentionable into fit subjects for art. Two of the works are first editions created by Goya, while the others are "restrikes" printed by others using Goya's original plates.
History of Medicine Introduction Over the ages, philosophers, theologians, and physicians had accepted insanity disorders within their purview. By the late 18th century, however, the first two had largely withdrawn and physicians, social activists, and the state took responsibility for the care and treatment of the mentally ill. Psychiatry as a medical discipline came into being during the first years of the 19th century. The rapidly growing population of the United States during the 19th century, along with an ever increasing number of immigrants, gave rise to the need for provision for the poor, the sick, and the mentally ill. Publicly supported almshouses and hospitals were established and the special needs of the mentally ill led to the era of asylums.
