Santiago Ramón y Cajal “The Beautiful Brain”

Grey Art Gallery

[Image: Santiago Ramón y Cajal "Calyces of Held in the nucleus of the trapezoid body" (1934) Ink and pencil on paper, 5 3/5 x 3 3/5 in. Courtesy of Instituto Cajal (CSIC).]

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The Beautiful Brain: The Drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal is the first U.S. museum exhibition to present the extraordinary drawings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal (Spain, 1852–1934), the father of modern neuroscience. Cajal’s astonishing depictions of the brain—which combine cutting-edge scientific knowledge with consummate draftsmanship—offer much greater clarity than photographs, so much so that they are still in wide use today. Featuring approximately 80 of Cajal’s drawings, the show will situate them within the history of scientific illustration from the 16th to 19th centuries, and juxtapose them with contemporary visualizations of the brain. Organized by the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota in collaboration with the Cajal Institute, the exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated book published by Abrams.