['Section of villi of duodenum', 'Section of bone'] before 1899

Curator: This plate, predating 1899, features photographic prints showcasing magnified views: "Section of villi of duodenum" and "Section of bone". Though anonymous, these gelatin-silver prints present the cutting edge of microscopic imaging at the time. My first impression is their clinical precision. Editor: I see them also as strangely intimate. The high contrast and stark presentation lend the images a dramatic flair, almost gothic. I'm thinking about the anonymous hands of researchers or students who would have handled such plates—what it meant to dissect and display the body so clinically. Curator: You pinpoint a key tension! The science driving it aimed for objective analysis, yet the images now carry a unique aura due to their historical distance. Consider how unfamiliar audiences were with such detail—villi resembling strange, deep-sea organisms. Editor: Precisely. The image of bone feels more abstract; its swirling concentric patterns evoke an organic mandala. It makes me think about visibility and power, who gets to look, who is seen, and how medical looking impacts marginalized people’s relationship to care today. These images normalize inspection. Curator: The 'Section of villi...' clearly depicts biological structures intended to break down and process foods as nutrients. Within the iconography of medicine and anatomy, the bone would speak of underlying structure, rigidity, yet also living tissue and capacity for regrowth. Editor: That focus on healing narratives interests me, juxtaposed with our contemporary unease about the medical-industrial complex. What beliefs did these visual materials propagate, and what unspoken hierarchies were cemented as ‘natural’ or ‘scientifically sound’? It all speaks to a time of dramatic and transformative medical advancements. Curator: Thinking of this image today and its effect makes me wonder, have we grown too used to seeing inside ourselves? What mysteries have we sacrificed for clarity? Editor: Anonymity shrouds it. We can now ponder both the revelations and perhaps also the ethical ambiguities such close scrutiny introduces.