The NOTCOM ERC Project and the Maison Française are delighted to welcome the exhibition Pain and the Physician,16th-18th centuries from 14 October 2024 to 14 March 2025 (Monday-Friday,09:00-17:00).

Please join us for a private view of the exhibition at 18:00 on Monday 18 November 2024.

Pain management is often viewed as a modern novelty, a practice that barely existed in the past. However, pain was already a major concern in the 16th-18th centuries. Although the medical arts of the time were in part powerless against it, doctors nonetheless mention it frequently in their writings and always seek to relieve it. Focusing on the 16th-18th centuries allows us to shift and reorient our view of pain. This detour into the past can help us gain fresh insight into current issues and practices.

This exhibition on early conceptions of pain is the result of multidisciplinary research combining the history of medicine, philosophy and literature. Through 12 thematic chapters, excerpts from works to read and to listen to, and interviews with neurologists, it brings the past face to face with the present and allows us to question our current understanding of pain.

Please read more on the website: mfo.web.ox.ac.uk/event/exhibition-pain-and-physician16th-18th-centuries