Insel Hospital, Bern [reverse] 1818

Curator: Let's look now at this intriguing engraving from 1818, by Sebastian Burger. It’s titled "Insel Hospital, Bern [reverse]," and depicts the newly built Insel Hospital, using detailed lines etched onto what looks like a coin or medallion. Editor: My first thought is that the medium itself lends a feeling of civic pride and commemorative importance. It looks like a flattened world turned to celebrate architecture and philanthropy. The cool metallic color casts a slightly detached mood over it, clinical even. Curator: Precisely. This isn't merely a building; it’s a statement. Hospitals at this time represented a shift in social responsibility. Before this institution was built, healthcare accessibility often depended on wealth or luck. Seeing it presented in the format of a medallion—like a prize, a token, an accomplishment to be admired— speaks volumes. The inscription around the rim translates loosely to, "Have their pounds/funds well applied" or, "Have their capital well invested", so it's very clearly celebrating money and investment. Editor: Yes, and notice how the cityscape is juxtaposed against the clouds. It draws an interesting tension between earthbound pragmatism of the hospital and more ethereal qualities. And those little figures milling about… they almost look incidental. Are they included to make a commentary on the social conditions of care, or are they more simply decoration, rendered small by the stature of the building? Curator: They humanize the hospital. Without them, the building might feel too cold, too monumental. Consider that historically, hospitals weren’t always perceived as places of healing; sometimes they were viewed as last resorts, or even sites of social control. I see this coin as making strides towards reframing institutional healing and care. And I am intrigued that the cityscape and clouds float free from gravity, on an almost flat plane, which speaks of a specific kind of perspective from this moment. Editor: A carefully cultivated perspective of hope and civic progress—carefully struck to leave an imprint, wouldn't you say? A lasting legacy for the modern age, to ensure that they "have their funds well invested." Curator: Absolutely. An intriguing testament to social ambition. Editor: I will definitely consider the many threads connecting investment with societal change!