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Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) introduced a system of therapy ('animal magnetism' or 'mesmerism') based on the theory that the body was analogous to a magnet. At first in Vienna (1768–1778) and later in Paris (1778–1784) he turned the theory into practice by constructing a large tub (a 'baquet') from which magnetised fluids were dispensed to patients through pipes and ropes applied to diseased parts of the body. In the present painting, the man on the extreme left winds a magnetised rope around his head to cure headache. In the right background, Mesmer touches a friar with a magnetic wand. In the right foreground the woman playing a piano might be the blind musician Maria Theresia von Paradies (Paradis) (1759–1824).
Title
Mesmeric Therapy
Date
1778–1784 (?)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 60.5 x W 76.2 cm
Accession number
44754i
Acquisition method
purchased by Henry S. Wellcome, c.1900–1936
Work type
Painting