The dentist 1773

Johann Jakob Dorner the Elder created this pen and brown ink drawing entitled 'The Dentist' in 1773. It presents us with a bustling market scene, where a traveling dentist performs his trade for a captivated audience. Here, Dorner’s image creates meaning by evoking the unsanitary, often theatrical, nature of medical practices in 18th-century Europe. The presence of onlookers, the dentist's flamboyant gestures, and the patient's exaggerated expression all contribute to a sense of spectacle. Looking at images like this can tell us a lot about period-specific social structures, such as class divisions, the role of public space, and access to healthcare. In the absence of regulated medical institutions, itinerant practitioners filled a void, catering to the needs of common people. Historical records, such as medical treatises, and popular literature can reveal the range of attitudes toward medical practice in the late 1700s. Through such resources we are able to recognize how an artwork like this reflects, and perhaps critiques, the social and institutional realities of its time.