Diablerie: A Satire on the Medical Profession 1612 - 1641

Editor: Andries Both’s “Diablerie: A Satire on the Medical Profession,” an ink and pen drawing dating back to the early 17th century, is wonderfully grotesque. The figures are beastly, deformed. What stands out to me is that some hold instruments reminiscent of medical tools while others handle a skull. How do you interpret this scene? Curator: It’s fascinating to consider how symbols like the skull, always evocative of mortality, were deployed then versus now. Think of this drawing as a cultural mirror, reflecting anxieties about medical practices. Note the ass-eared figure in charge. How does that bestial image undermine the authority of medical science? What other symbols might connect to common folklore about the failings or dark arts of the medical community? Editor: I see your point about the animalistic figures undercutting any trust in their ability to heal, especially with what looks like quackery occurring in the background on the shelves! It almost feels like a pre-modern political cartoon. Curator: Precisely! The very act of caricaturing them invests these monstrous figures with a very earthly and satirical power. Consider this drawing's resonance today. Are there professions we view with similar suspicion? And how do we depict that skepticism? These echoes across time highlight the enduring power of symbols. Editor: I never thought about satire having symbolic traditions too! I’m left wondering if this points to a long, collective, cultural memory of skepticism that is embedded within our understanding of these specific professions. Thank you for offering this different perspective, it truly gave me another angle from which to appreciate art. Curator: It's a reminder that images speak a language that is deeply embedded in the culture itself.