London hospitals in painting art

Abstract

This article investigates the ways in which hospitals in England are represented in painting; it includes the reflection of developments in medical history in art and the documentation of the reflections of hospital-themed paintings in art history in relation to social structure and cultural developments. The emergence of hospital buildings in Europe stemmed from religious and social needs and evolved over time with the development of medical sciences. In this research, examples of works dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries depicting the exteriors and interiors of iconic hospital buildings such as Bethlehem (Bedlam) Royal Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Fondling Hospital, Savoy Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital and St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, England, where hospital art collecting is of great importance, were examined. The names of the General Hospital buildings were created under subheadings, and the history of each hospital building was touched upon, and the ways in which they were depicted by different artists, sometimes in different periods and styles, were discussed. Paintings that depict the exteriors and interiors of hospital buildings reflect the functions of these structures through art and also shed light on the evolution of hospital interior and exterior architecture. The depictions of the exteriors of numerous large city hospitals in London, which were prominent in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period and became symbols of nobility, fame and beauty, as well as hospital interior depictions that were addressed iconographically in a social, cultural and sometimes dramatic context, were examined in this study with specific examples. It was determined that the artists, in addition to the important information they provided regarding the visual representations of the history of health services and social structure with both architectural depictions and compositions such as multi-figured wards, courtyards and operating rooms, also addressed hospitals as a reflection of the social structure of society by touching on universal themes such as health, pain, life and death.