[대학원 생명과학과 세미나 안내]
연사 : 유임주 교수(고려대학교 의과대학 해부학교실)
연제 : Gustav Klimt's The Kiss-Art and the Biology of Early Human Development
일시 : 2022년 12월 02일 (금) 오후 4시 30분
장소 : 하나과학관 A동 109호
초청교수 : 백자현 교수
Abstract
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)'s ‘The Kiss’, one of the greatest masterpieces of the 20th century beloved worldwide. I had a chance to dissect this masterpiece with eyes of anatomist.
The comparative analysis of the patterns and symbols in ‘the Kiss’ with contemporary medical literature have unlocked the century old secrets of the mysteries of human development hidden in the garments of Klimt’s painted lovers. The monochrome rectangles in the man’s cloak are expressed as symbols of masculinity by diagramming the neck of the sperm observed with a high-resolution microscope. The many round-shaped eggs adorn the woman’s dress with sperms swimming around them. A single orange egg is touched by a single sperm, representing the recently discovered medical phenomenon of post-fertilization surface reaction in the ovum membrane preventing other sperms from entering. The dress also features fertilized eggs dividing into 2, 4, and 8 cell stages later developing into a mulberry fruit-like structure composed of 12 to 32 divided cell groups, which represent the first 3 days of human development weaved into the ‘the Kiss’.
The light microscope that was invented in the 17th century reached modern technological levels by the mid-19th century aiding the understanding of the microstructure of bacteria, cells and fertilization process, and Klimt was part of the Viennese Modernist community at the turn of the 20th century, allowing the cross-fertilization between the arts and sciences. He adopted many biological icons in his works including ‘the kiss’. I will discuss the details in this talk.