Epilepsy surgery and art

Epilepsy has been the subject of many classical art works such as Raphael's Transfiguration. In his piece of art, Raphael depicts two biblical narratives, in the upper part of the painting it is represented the Transfiguration of Christ in the mount Tabor according the gospel of Mark (Matthew 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-13). In the lower part the apostles fail to cure an epileptic boy and await for the return of the Crist. One of the famous contemporary art works depicting epilepsy is "The Red Curtain or Homage to Vincent" . This artistic work has been used as the logo of the German Epilepsy Foundation "Stiftung Michael" and represents the medical, psychological and social consequences of epilepsy. Karlheiz Geier (1983) perform a drawing where epilepsy is represented as a high and dangerous mountain surrounded by demons. San Valentin, the most important patron saint of epileptics is trying to heal the patient Epilepsy surgery has revolutionized the care of selected patients and is considered a relatively new intervention. Epilepsy surgery has been depicted in few artistic works. During the Renaissance, Bosch famously provided artistic commentary on traditional beliefs in . The work of Bosch and other authors show a surgeon extracting a stone from a patient's head, in the past it was believed to be the source of all “folly”, including epileptic seizures,intellectual disability, psychosis and mood disorders, and a variety of other illnesses. The only contemporary art work that was available depicting epilepsy surgery was the painting of Juan Bravo titled "Skull trepanation scene of the pre-Inca period". This work is in permanent display in the Lima institute of neurosciences and shows a skull trepanation scene from the pre-Inca period, which was used to treat epilepsy.. In general the available works represent epilepsy surgery as something painful where the patient is suffering. Patients can find these depictions not friendly and make them to change a decision of epilepsy surgery.
Eduardo Urbano Merino
Artist Eduardo Urbano Merino was born in Mexico City in October 1975. He studied at the Academy of San Carlos, which is located in Mexico City. He was an outstanding student in human anatomy, composition, and painting techniques. He learned much of his technique based on the study of classic artists such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Velazquez, and Dali, among others. His work is figurative, sometimes hyperrealist. He is an expert on the human anatomy, figure and perspective. His works have been exhibited at recognized artistic venues in Mexico, as well as in numerous international exhibitions in Europe and North America. He has participated in several auctions for charitable institutions in Mexico such as the TAM project where several paintings were auctioned for poor kids in Mexico. In 2012, Urbano was commissioned to paint a mural in celebration of the bicentennial of Mexico's independence, creating a monumental work of 5 × 10 m in oil. In 2011, he presented a sculpture for the Mexican College of Rheumatology at the Mexico's Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City called "Hope and fulfillment" . In 2003, Rigoberta Menchu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (1992) granted him with “The peace medal in the arts” for their collaboration on noble causes.
Painting “Epilepsy, leaving the nightmare behind”
The painting is one of the few contemporary art pieces representing “epilepsy surgery”, along with the work of Juan Bravo.. The painting was also exhibited in the meeting of the International League Against Epilepsy that was held in Montreal from June 23 to June 27 of 2013. The painting is in permanent display at the main hall of the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The painting was included in a scientific review article called “Art and epilepsy surgery” by the journal epilepsy and behaviour where other 10 ancient works depicting epilepsy surgery were highlighted and disscused. None of these ancient works were displayed in a friendly way for patients by the authors, all of them showed showed surgical procedures and patients suffering. Eduardo's painting was the image used in a campaign organized by the Saskatchewan Epilepsy program. In only three months 100,000 dollars donated by the generous people in the community of the province of Saskatchewan and the Kolibab family to buy a second video-EEG equipment to investigate patients for epilepsy surgery
Importance of the painting
Epilepsy surgery is a standard therapy for patients who become intractable (patients that do not respond to medications and other non medical therapies). The procedure has excellent results in some types of epilepsy such as temporal lobe epilepsy, although there are significant misbeliefs about epilepsy surgery, and many doctors still consider that the procedure is risky and is the last resource for patients. Currently the International League against epilepsy and many countries are promoting epilepsy surgery as a procedure that can be used early in the course of the disease. There is evidence from old manuscripts that epilepsy surgery was attempted and performed for patients with epilepsy from ancient times in many civilizations such as the Incas in Peru. Epilepsy surgery has been artistically represented in only few occasions, and in the majority of available works, the representation is generally of pain and suffering. For the first time, artist Eduardo Urbano has employed a friendly universal language of art to help patients understand the benefits of epilepsy surgery. With his painting Eduardo wants to help patients who suffer epilepsy to understand the process of healing after epilepsy surgery, giving hope and optimism.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu