Page Comparison - Howard Bartner and 40 years of Medical Science (v.19 vs v.20)

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Since the sixteenth century, when Andreas Vesalius' (1514-1564) drawings of dissections revolutionized our knowledge of human physiology, medical illustrators have become the ultimate portrait painters, rendering the essence of human life. To this day, medical illustrations remain the primary source of information for students of human biology and medicine. Continuing in the tradition of Vesalius, Howard Bartner of the Medical Arts and Photography Branch at the National Institutes of Health has devoted forty years to portraying human anatomy in his drawings. This exhibit looks at only a fraction of his work.

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Photograph of Howard Bartner in front of his drawing board Illustrator Howard Bartner

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Born in New York City in 1931, Howard Bartner discovered his artistic abilities early, painting landscapes and still lifes for his aunts and uncles. After graduating from the Stella Elkins Tyler School of Fine Arts at Temple University, Bartner found that medical illustration melded his interest in biology and the sciences with his artistic talent.

As a student in the medical arts graduate program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bartner's first encounter with the cadaver was difficult, but the intricate beauty of the human body fascinated him. Now he draws his illustrations from original dissections, stopping periodically to sketch, or observing surgical procedures and examining patients. Bartner's direct observations often produce works of considerable artistic sensitivity and beauty.

In addition to his career at the National Institutes of Health, Bartner is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

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Painting 1: Glaucomatous Optic Disc

In the normal optic disc on the left, the number of optic nerve fibers is normal. The cup within the optic nerve is small and the vessels are near the center of the disc. In the glaucomatous optic disc on the right, increased pressure within the eye has caused the disappearance of a large number of optic nerve fibers. Therefore, the cup has enlarged and the disc vessels have curved along the cup's contour.

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Painting of a normal optic disc and a glaucomatous optic disc
Painting 01

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Painting 2: Retina Uveitis Hemorrhages

In 1958, Howard Bartner created his first painting at the National Institutes of Health: this view of the retina of a patient with uveitis, an inflammation of the uvea (iris, ciliary body, and choroid), the middle layer of the eye. As a result, the retinal vessel walls are weakened and are bleeding. The inset depicts a scar in the retina; the retina and choroid have disappeared and the whiteness of the sclera (the outer layer of the eye) can be seen.

Painting of a retina of a patient with uveitis
Painting 02

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Painting 3: Detached Retina

This painting, completed in 1967, shows an entire retina. The optic disc is the small yellow circle near the center of the orange retina. The billowing of the bottom segment of the retina indicates that this segment of the retina has become detached from the firm connective tissue that encloses the eye. This causes visual loss in the area.

Painting of an entire retina
Painting 03

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Sequential Dissections of the Head from the Side starting with salivary glands and skin
Drawings 1-3: Sequential Dissections of the Head from the Side

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pencil Illustration of soft tissues and bone in babies face
Drawing 2 of 3: Sequential Dissections of the Head from the Side

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pencil Illustration of muscles and bone in babies face
Drawing 3 of 3: Sequential Dissections of the Head from the Side

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Drawing 1 of 4: Sequential Views of the Infant's Throat, Larynx Areas, and Mouth Muscles from the Front

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Drawing 2 of 4: Sequential Views of the Infant's Throat, Larynx Areas, and Mouth Muscles from the Front

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Drawing 3 of 4: Sequential Views of the Infant's Throat, Larynx Areas, and Mouth Muscles from the Front working sketch.

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Drawing 4 of 4: Sequential Views of the Infant's Throat, Larynx Areas, and Mouth Muscles from the Front.

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Drawing 1 of 3: Sequential Drawings of the Throat Area from the Back

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Drawing 2 of 3: Sequential Drawings of the Throat Area from the Back

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Drawing 3 of 3: Sequential Drawings of the Throat Area from the Back

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Bartner's drawing of a teenage boy walking a tightrope shows how the body's sensory organs work together with the bones and muscles to maintain balance, keeping the boy from falling off the rope. Bartner incorporated Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel painting of Adam's birth at God's hand (right side of the drawing). "For me, the drawing also suggests the fragility of life," says Bartner.

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Bartner's drawing of a teenage boy walking a tightrope shows how the body's sensory organs work together with bones and muscle to maintain balance, keeping the boy from falling off the rope.

Drawing 2: The Inner Ear

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Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance shoeing position with face as reference
Drawing 1 of 3: Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance

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Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance
Drawing 2 of 3: Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance

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Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance, including the utricle
Drawing 3 of 3: Details of the vestibule organs of the inner ear responsible for balance

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Versions Compared

Old Version 19

New Version 20

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Painting 1: Glaucomatous Optic Disc

Painting 2: Retina Uveitis Hemorrhages

Painting 3: Detached Retina

Drawing 2: The Inner Ear

Office of NIH History and Stetten Museum