Though not all experts agree, some believe that Sandro
Botticelli's famous painting, The
Birth of Venus, is thought to be the earliest known depiction of Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA).
Painted in the mid-1480s, Venus arrives at the shore after her
birth. Doctors who've examined the painting, especially Venus’ hands,
believe that Simonetta
Vespucci, the 16-year-old model on whom Venus is based, may have had Rheumatoid
Arthritis. If true, then it is evidence that Rheumatoid Arthritis existed
long before the first
description of RA in modern medicine by Augustin
Jacob Landré-Beauvais in the year 1800.
The Birth of Venus hangs alone on a wall in the Uffizi
Gallery in Florence, Italy. Having had the pleasure of seeing her in
person, I marvel at her beauty and grace, but find myself also pre-occupied by
questions about her daily life with RA in the 15th century.
How difficult her daily life must have been. How much pain did she suffer
daily? What treatments were available, if any? Was her life shortened because
of inflammation as she died at age 22, a full ten years before the painting was
completed? Plenty of scholars
have speculated as to the diagnoses she may have had or the cause(s) of her
death, but similar interest surrounds her life, her beauty, and the
fascination with her that lived on after she died.
I love that she was known as a beauty including and despite her health
challenges, inflammation, and possible pituitary tumor among other
ailments. I love that she is still standing, if only in tempura
on canvas, after all this time.
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