Image series 24 / 2025: Images of the Brain
Works and Objects
4 June 2025
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By: Bettina Pfleging
For centuries, people have been asking questions about the head, its contents and the processes that take place within it. Archaeological evidence of brain surgery dates back to around 9,600-4,300 BC, and the first description of the brain comes from Egypt in 1,600 BC. This ancient artistic and philosophical interest in the human mind has left behind a rich treasure trove of visual traditions, as evidenced by countless works of art and cultural history. But as the central organ that defines our being and essence, many of its structures and functions are still not fully understood today.
The permanent exhibition offers an insight into the complex structure of the brain, an extraordinary part of the body that has not yet been fully explored.
„Brains“
Permanent exhibition, Senckenberg Naturmuseum Frankfurt
Leonardo da Vinci. Anatomische Studie der Schichten von Gehirn und Kopfhaut, Ausschnitt, um 1490 – 1493, Feder, braune Tusche (zwei Schattierungen), rote Kreide, 203 × 152 mm, Windsor; HeidICON – Europäische Kunstgeschichte, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
Pieter van Gunst. Anatomische studie van de binnenkant van een schedel, Ausschnitt, 1685, paperengraving, 273 × 442 mm, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum Collection, Amsterdam
Jan l’Admiral. Prints of the Brain, Ausschnitt, 1733 – 1738, paperetching, 130 × 173 mm, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum Collection, Amsterdam
J. M. Bourgery. Schnitt durch das Gehirn, Ausschnitt, 1831, Heidelberg; HeidICON – UB Anatomische Illustrationen, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
Otto Dix. Menschliches Gehirn, Ausschnitt, 1920, Aquarell; IKARE, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Archäologien Europas, Zentralbibliothek
Robert Morris. Cerveau (Brain), Ausschnitt, 1963, Plâtre, huit billets et demi d’un dollar, bois peint, 19 × 17 × 15 cm, New York; Iconothèque, Université de Genève, Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie
Maria Lassnig. Gehirnströme, Ausschnitt, 1995, Paris; ConedaKOR Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut
Suzanne Anker. The Butterfly in the Brain, Ausschnitt, 2002; Archive of Digital Art, Donau-Universität Krems, Department für Bildwissenschaften
