Understanding Breast Cancer Images in Art History as a Form of Health Communication

Abstract

Can art and visual images meant for public consumption (museums, galleries, social media platforms) serve as a critical form of health communication for breast cancer patients? For their clinicians? For the population at large? Art history research methods are applied to a range of breast cancer images in western art in order to understand what the images communicate to us about patient experience, agency, and inequity in health care at the time of their construction. The following is a selective look at western art as it reflects and informs our understanding of breast cancer over time.

Acknowledgments & Author Commentary

Portions of this text come from the following publication: Conaty S. “Milestones in the Depiction of Breasts and Breast Cancer in Art History,” in Myers, K. R. (Ed.). (2021). Breast cancer inside out: Bodies, biographies & beliefs. Peter Lang, 331-337. Additionally, while this article utilizes selected examples of western art to demonstrate art as a critical form of health communication, the authors recognize that this study is not inclusive to all voices and cultures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with thework featured in this article.