The Concealed Erotic Paintings of Sommonte (19th Century)
A wonderfully unique object, at first glance merely a painting of roses, but with hidden erotic scenes beneath. …Continued
Wellcome Library
The Wellcome is one of the world’s major resources for the study of medical history. On 20th January 2014, over 100,000 images from the historical holdings of the world-renowned Wellcome Library were made freely available through the Wellcome Images website. They were released under the Creative Commons-Attribution only (CC-BY 4.0) licence and they can be downloaded directly from the Wellcome Images website for any personal or commercial use.
Arcimboldo-esque Composite Portraits of Trades (ca. 1800)
Lovely aquatint print depicting four composite portraits for the professions of florist, writer, musician, and barber — their features made up entirely from the tools …Continued
The Surreal Art of Alchemical Diagrams
The varied tradition of alchemy has given birth to a whole host of strange and wondrous imagery over the centuries. Here we pick out some …Continued
The Singerie: Monkeys acting as Humans in Art
Examples of Singerie, from the French for Monkey Trick, a genre of art in which monkeys are depicted aping human behaviour. …Continued
The Steps of Life
Selection of images illustrating on the idea that one's life can be thought of as divisible into distinct stages. …Continued
New Elucidations of Thomson’s Seasons (1822)
Skeletons up to all sorts in this light-hearted satire of James Thomson's poem Spring, from the pen of humorist Henry James Pidding. …Continued
Anatomical Illustrations from 15th-century England
Anatomical illustrations from an English medical treatise dating from the mid 15th century, including a Wound Man illustration, depicting a man who has been stabbed, …Continued
Georg Bartisch’s Ophthalmodouleia (1583)
Images from Ophthalmodouleia Das ist Augendienst, the first Renaissance manuscript on ophthalmic disorders and eye surgery, published in 1583 by German physician Georg Bartisch (1535–1607), …Continued
The Legend of the Divine Farmer
WELLCOME LIBRARY - Gillian Daniels, Graduate Trainee at the Wellcome Trust, explores the story of Shen Nong, born of a princess and heavenly dragon, and …Continued
The Key of Hell: an 18th-Century Manual on Black Magic
Images from the Clavis Inferni or "The Key of Hell", a late-18th-century book on black magic. …Continued
Collection of Pornographic Art from Antiquity (1785)
A collection of pornographic art from antiquity, presented by the French art historian and libertine Pierre-François Hugues d'Hancarville (1719-1805). …Continued
Compendium Of Demonology and Magic (ca. 1775)
A selection of pages from an 18th-century demonology book comprised of more than 30 exquisuite watercolours showing various demon figures, as well as magic and …Continued