Franz Joseph Gall, grondlegger van de leer der frenologie 1805

Editor: So, here we have a fascinating object – a print made by Friedrich Wilhelm Loos in 1805 depicting Franz Joseph Gall, the founder of phrenology. It looks like a metal coin or medallion of some kind. I’m struck by the contrast; one side portrays Gall looking quite serious, while the other side has this rather morbid skull and text. What do you see in this piece that I might be missing? Curator: Oh, darling, you've stumbled upon a historical minefield, a clash of science and symbolism cast in metal. That contrast you noticed, it’s the beating heart of the piece. On one side, we have Gall, all Enlightenment rationalism in his powdered wig. But flip it over, and we’re staring into the face of mortality. Think of it as a memento mori, a constant reminder of our fleeting existence. What’s truly ironic is that Gall, in his quest to map the mind through bumps on the skull, was essentially searching for the tangible in the intangible, trying to cheat death, in a way. Do you think that juxtaposition of the rational and the corporeal reveals anything about early 19th century anxieties? Editor: Absolutely! It's like he's trying to quantify something inherently unquantifiable, grappling with the limits of science in the face of something so absolute as death. And using this physical medallion as a way to do it! It is wild how well that captures human hubris. Curator: Precisely! It reminds me of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a story of science exceeding its boundaries, created a decade after this medal. It's as if this artwork serves as an amuse-bouche to the Romantics' main course: questioning the unchecked ambition of the Enlightenment and the pitfalls of seeking dominion over the natural world, whilst confronting humanity with the sublime and unknowable. This coin invites us to delve into the mystery, isn't it a delightful little object, dripping with thought!