Sífilis 1900

This is a poster for a sanatorium that claims to offer an absolute and radical cure for syphilis, made by Ramón Casas, a Catalan artist working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The figure depicted, a woman with a snake draped over her shawl, holds a flower. The poster reflects the social anxieties of the time, when sexually transmitted diseases were rampant and stigmatized. Casas presents a complex image of women, disease, and societal perceptions, referencing the visual language and tropes used to depict women and morality. The woman's beauty contrasts sharply with the disease she is associated with. The inclusion of the snake, a symbol laden with both allure and danger, suggests that the poster engages with the viewer's complex feelings about desire, risk, and health. The poster invites us to consider the historical context of healthcare, societal attitudes toward disease, and the gendered dimensions of health and illness.