Art

Creepy 19th Century Anatomical Watercolors of Deformed and Diseased Skulls

Published

June 27, 2017

The Bigelow-Wallis and Warren-Kaula watercolor collection is a set of 189 watercolor paintings commissioned by Harvard professor of surgery Henry Jacob Bigelow from lithographer Oscar Wallis between 1849 and 1854. There are a lot of weird and gross images in this collection worth checking out, but my favorites are the skulls – gorgeous, subtly colored and undeniably deformed and diseased. Check out the skull collection below, plus make sure to take a look at some of the other anatomical paintings that are a part of the exhibit.

In this article:anatomical drawings, Harvard, medical history, medical illustrations, victorian

Written By Meghan

Meghan MacRae grew up in Vancouver, Canada, but spent many years living in the remote woods. Living in the shadow of grizzly bears, cougars and the other predators of the wilderness taught her about the dark side of nature, and taught her to accept her place in nature's order as their prey. She is co-founder of CVLT Nation.