Portret van de patholoog Léon Rostan 1837

Zéphirin Belliard created this print of Léon Rostan in France, a country that during the 19th century saw an unprecedented rise in scientific and medical knowledge. Portraits like this one were often commissioned by the sitter and were used to communicate ideas about their social standing and professional expertise. Here, Rostan is portrayed as an educated and serious man. Rostan was a renowned pathologist, interested in studying the causes and effects of disease. During this period, the Paris School of Medicine played an important role in the development and formalization of modern medicine. The portrait then serves as a kind of advertisement for the doctor's knowledge and the advancements of medicine. To understand the portrait fully, we need to research both the biography of Rostan, the history of the Paris School of Medicine, and the role of medical institutions in 19th-century France. It is only then that we can appreciate the cultural importance of this image.