Phrenology. Caricature of Franz Joseph Gall, inventor of the pseudo-science of phrenology, examining 2 patients' heads. In the background are a number

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Phrenology. Caricature of Franz Joseph Gall, inventor of the pseudo-science of phrenology, examining 2 patients' heads. In the background are a number of human and animal skulls packed onto shelves. Gall (1758-1828), a German physician, mistakenly believed that the brain contained up to 42 organs. Each of these supposedly controlled a particular mental faculty and would increase in size if often used & affect the overall shape of the skull. The shape of the skull could therefore be used to determine a person's personality & intelligence. French caricature from 1802; the patients are the leaders of Britain and Sweden, both enemies of France at the time.

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Size: 3168px × 2618px
Photo credit: © JEAN-LOUP CHARMET/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: caricature, charlatanism, franz, gall, head, historical, history, image, joseph, measurement, medical, people, person, persons, phrenology, quack, quackery, treatment