Saint John the Baptist, in Drag ~ Palacio nacional de Sintra, Portugal

Palmyra, aka House of Black and White from Game of Thrones
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From Louis-François Cassas, Voyage pittoresque de la Syrie, de la Phoenicie, de la Palaestine et de la Basse Aegypte, vol. 1 (1799–1800), engraved by Louis Desmaisons and Jean-Baptiste Liénard after Louis- François Cassas. The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (840011)

thegetty:

By Kristen and Bryan from our manuscripts department

“December 1 has come to be known among art and AIDS organizations as Day With(out) Art (or World Aids Day). 

Now in its 28th year, Day With(out) Art is a call to action against the AIDS pandemic and its devastating effect on art and culture. 

This year, we focus on #MyRightToHealth and are motivated as well by current efforts to pass a bill that would eliminate the tax deduction on medical expenses—a deduction that helps almost 9 million Americans a year offset the financially devastating cost of medical crises, chronic illnesses, and disabilities.

As curators of manuscripts, this day prompts us to reflect on the enduring relevance of centuries-old images in our collection, specifically, one that reveals the vulnerability of the human condition and celebrates compassion, not only with thoughts and prayers but with actions.

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Taken from the Gospel of Matthew, Christ’s words about charity are written in Latin above this scene of a nun feeding a leper in a hospital. Even in the Middle Ages, medical care was available to those with pre-existing conditions and terminal illnesses, though treatment was rarely provided by physicians. 

It was clerics who were tasked with ministering to the physical and spiritual needs of the sick. Meals and medicine were communally provided after admission to a hospital, but some of the poorest members of society were compelled to raise funds for their care. The stigma attached to diseases such as leprosy, the plague, or later syphilis, however, cut across all social classes.”

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Image: Initial D: A Woman Feeding a Leper in Bed, 1275-1300, Unknown. J. Paul Getty Museum