Integrating the Integumentary System with the Arts: A Review of Dermatologic Findings in Artwork

The objectives of this review are to demonstrate that portraits, in their visual reflections of subjects faces and expressions, offer significant representations relevant to the field of dermatology and bring attention to an underappreciated aesthetic of dermatological conditions. The review comprises paintings that purposefully or inadvertently depict dermatological conditions. The findings were substantiated by searching PubMed using the keywords art, painting, and dermatology, as well as combinations of these terms. The “Notable Notes” section of JAMA Dermatology proved especially useful. The review is subdivided by disease category, including portraits that display infectious diseases, neoplastic conditions, genetic dermatoses, rosacea and/or acne, and autoimmune disorders. The breadth of examples of dermatology represented in art suggest that portraits might serve as an unintentional atlas of dermatological conditions. By implication, it seems that the arts might be more interconnected to the sciences than traditionally acknowledged.