Conferences

On Sunday, 24 May 2015, 11.00 a.m., the Black Box Hall of the National Theatre shall host the conference with the title Hidden Neuroanatomy in Michelangelo’s Paintings. The Sistine Chapel held by Prof. Alexandru Vlad Ciurea MD., PhD., MSc., Dr. h.c. Mult.​. Ticket price: 16 lei

About the Conference

Michelangelo Buonarotti(1475-1564) was a genius of the arts. Renaissance artist, of an unparalleled talent, Michelangelo was preoccupied by sculpture, architecture, engineering and, last but not least, anatomy. He is the author of a series of priceless works of art, including the Pieta from the Basilica San Pietro from the Vatican and David’s statue from the Accademia Gallery in Florence.

Although the position as an artist of the Catholic Church did not allow him to take part in dissections without undergoing major risks, more and more evidence appears in favour of Michelangelo having been an accomplished anatomist. This includes the incredible amount of neuro-anatomical details in his frescos on the Sistine Chapel.

Between 1508 and 1512, Michelangelo showcased his mastery by painting, at the order of Pope Julius II, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The frescos, covering a surface of approximately 1000 m², were included, thanks to their beauty and expressiveness, in the world heritage of arts.

Achieved only with brush and paint, Michelangelo’s paintings surprise structures of an extraordinary finesse, like the brainstem and the terminal cisterna, elements which could be thoroughly analysed only after the invention of the operating microscope.  

After an independent analysis of the fresco „The Separation of Light from Darkness”, Prof. Dr. Alexandru Vlad Ciurea advances the bold idea that the entire body of God in this painting is created through the artistic transfiguration of a multiple series of details of human neuroanatomy. Thus, Michelangelo’s fresco surprises the section image of a cerebral ventricle IV, of the entire diencephalic level, of the thalamic nuclei, of Monro’s sulcus, extending from what seems to be a an aqueduct of Sylvius to a structure which we have identified as interventricular foramina of Monro.

Furthermore, Michelangelo’s painting evokes the silhouette of a Corpus callosum, vital neuroanatomical element, and last but not least the presence of the tectal plate with the four quadrigeminal colliculi next to the geniculate nuclei and the pertaining conjunctival arms. In the centre of that structure, between the four quadrigeminal colliculi, one can notice, according to Prof. Dr. Ciurea, a slight cavity considered to be the skull extremity of the cruciform eminence on the tectal plate. In the author’s opinion, this represents the epiphysis bed (the pineal gland).

Through these ideas, the conference held by Prof. Dr. Alexandru Vlad Ciurea contradicts the ideas set forth by his predecessor researchers and highlights the amazing knowledge of neuro-anatomy, which Michelangelo might have owned. At the same time, the conference is meant to complete the interpretation of anatomic details „hidden” in all frescos by Michelangelo and offers an interpretation of the role, which the relationship of subordination between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II might have had on the artist’s oeuvre. Finally, Prof. Dr. Alexandru Vlad Ciurea pleas for the importance attributed by Michelangelo to the central nervous system and its creative function in the development of human conscience.

About Prof. Alexandru Vlad Ciurea MD., PhD., MSc., Dr. h.c. Mult.

Professor for Neurosurgery; Senior Neurosurgeon; Founder of the National Centre for Excellence in Neurosurgery; Honorary President of the Romanian Neurosurgical Society; President of the Neurosurgical Committee within the Romanian Ministry of Health; Ex-President of the WFNS Nominating Committee (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies)

Education:

1976 - Doctor in medical sciences, specialty Neurosurgery; 1979- Senior Neurosurgeon at the „Dr. Gh. Marinescu” Neurosurgical Hospital; 1997 – 2013- Head of Neurosurgery Department I within the Clinical Hospital „Bagdasar Arseni”; 1997-2005 - Manager of the „Bagdasar-Arseni” Hospital; 1997-present - Professor for Neurosurgery at the „Carol Davila” University for Medicine and Pharmacy Bucharest, 2013-present – Head of Neurosurgery Department, Scientific Director, Sanador Hospital

Professional Associations:

Member of: the International Society for Paediatric Neurosurgery; the European Society for Paediatric Neurosurgery; the French Society for Neurosurgery; the Neuro-rehabilitation Committee of WFNS; Ambassador of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, USA; President of the Romanian Society for Neurosurgery; Secretary General, then Vice-President of Euroacademia Multidisciplinaria Neurotraumatologica; Honorary Member of the Executive Committee of the Asian Congress of Neurosurgical Societies, Japan; Secretary, Founding Member of the Academia Multidisciplinaria Neurotraumatologica, Brescia, Italy; Vice-President of WFNS, Morocco; President of the Romanian Society for Neuro-Oncology; International Member of the Brazilian Neurosurgical Academy; Member of the Romanian Scientist Academy ; Vice-President of Academia Multidisciplinaria Neurotraumatologica, Cluj-Napoca; Member of the Romanian Medical Science Academy; President of the WFNS Nominating Committee, Boston; Vice-President of the Romanian Medical Association; Honorary Member of the Bulgarian Society for Neurosurgery; official guest for a series of conferences at the International Congress of the Brazilian Academy for Neurosurgery (July 2013).

Publications:

He is a board member of the World Neurosurgery international magazine. He published 33 books on neurosurgery, the most important being the Neurosurgery Treatise (two volumes, 2010 and 2011). He is a co-author for 21 volumes; over 180 scientific articles printed in medical publications.

Special Merits and Distinctions:

Patent for invention for the Mono-tube Drain, a worldwide largely used invention for treating hydrocephaly; the National Order „Faithful Service”, to the degree of Commander (2000), awarded by the Romanian President; The Hidden Anatomy in Michelangelo’s Oeuvre, innovation certificate, registered with OSIM; four titles of Doctor Honoris Causa (Dunărea de Jos University, Galați; „N. Testemitanu” Faculty of Medicine Chișinău, Republic of Moldova; „Petre Andrei” University, Iași; Faculty of Medicine of the Oradea University); Head of Neurosurgery Committee in the Ministry of Health; Award for „Innovative Medical Education” at the Healthcare Gala; Diploma et Charta Aureus of the Romanian Scientist Academy; Excellence Diploma for Food Research, awarded by UMF „Carol Davila” and by the Health Media Group; Excellence Diploma for scientific and publishing activity within UMF, awarded by the Journal for Medicine and Life, Bucharest; Medal for Exceptional Services in the field of Public Health, awarded by the Military Hospital; Excellence Diploma of the Romanian Physician Association for the Neurosurgery Treatise, vol. I, II; Excellence Diploma awarded by the Romanian Association for Patient Protection; „Neurovasc” Excellence Diploma, awarded by the International Congress for Cerebrovascular Surgery, Mumbai, India.

Translated by Simona Nichițeanu