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Reviewer needed: ‘The Sick Rose: Disease and the Art of Medical Illustration’ by Richard Barnett

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By CentreForMedicalHumanities.org Research Team | Last verified: September 2026

Research Summary: The Sick Rose: Disease and the Art of Medical Illustration

Category: Scholarly Book / Medical History & Art
Author: Richard Barnett
Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2014
Primary Focus: Medical illustrations from rare historical medical texts spanning pre-photographic era to document disease, epidemics, and medical understanding
Content Elements: Exquisitely detailed illustrations, historic maps, charts, medical instruments, and case notes revealing societal fears and medical preoccupations of past eras
Target Reviewer Profile: Artist preferred; clinician review also commissioned; approximately 1,000-1,500 word review requested
Submission Requirements: Interested reviewers should email reviews editor with explanation of qualifications
Significance: Provides profound humanistic perspective on mankind's historical struggle with disease, infection, and bodily decay through visual documentation

The Centre is ecstatic to offer ‘The Sick Rose: Disease and the Art of Medical Illustration‘ by Richard Barnett (Thames & Hudson, 2014) for review. We are specifically looking for an artist to undertake the challenge of reviewing this fascinating and curious collection of medical illustrations, which will be pressed alongside a review by a clinician.

‘A beautifully gruesome and strangely enthralling visual tour through disease in an age before colour photography.

Exquisitely detailed illustrations from some of the world’s rarest medical books form an unforgettable and profoundly human reminder of mankind’s age-old struggle with disease.

This evocative overview, incorporating historic maps, charts, medical instruments and case notes, reveals the fears and preoccupations of an era at the mercy of epidemics, infection and bodily decay.’

If you would like to write a review on ‘The Sick Rose‘ (approximately 1,000-1,500 words in length), then please email our reviews editor with a short explanation of why you are well placed to review the book.

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