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The Rhoton Collection

2016; Thieme Medical Publishers (Germany); Volume: 77; Issue: 04 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1055/s-0036-1584944

2193-6331

Jeffrey Sorenson,

Life is short, art is long. Dr. Rhoton understood the value of art and craft in his work, continuously elevating them to new heights in his laboratory, even as his physical form began to fail. Art had taken its rightful place in the study of anatomy during the Renaissance with the publication of Vesalius' De humani corporis fabrica. This was a major departure from the unillustrated books of Galen and other ancient anatomists, which had asked readers to perform the impossible task of visualizing human anatomy from a written description. Since Vesalius, artistic technique has been the most potent tool for making anatomy more comprehensible, so it was not surprising to find that Dr. Rhoton's modest suite of rooms at the Brain Institute was as much an art studio as a laboratory. Dr. Rhoton was very proud of the artistic results his fellows were achieving there. He repeatedly referred to them as modern day Michelangelos, which is not so far-fetched, as their dissections are essentially sculptures created by precise subtraction of material until a masterpiece remains. Just as Lorenzo de' Medici took in the young Michelangelo for training in the finest techniques of sculpture, Dr. Rhoton brought young, bright, motivated people from all over the world to learn the art and craft of anatomical dissection before making world-class contributions of their own. We also know that Michelangelo's deep interest in human anatomy and the brain led him to perform dissections and contemplate illustrating an anatomy textbook. I am certain that if Dr. Rhoton's laboratory had existed in Renaissance Florence, Michelangelo would have done a fellowship and we would still be admiring the results centuries later.