january 21, 2008
past anagrams	menu	utb

IMAGES

10:03am

tomorrow my mom goes in for her surgery.
please send her some positive vibes!

+++

down syndrome depicted in a sixteenth century nativity painting

"An angel (or shepherd) with Down syndrome in a sixteenth century Flemish Nativity painting

We have identified a 16th-century Flemish Nativity painting in which one figure appears distinctly different from other individuals in the painting with an appearance of Down syndrome. Several prior observers have identified Down syndrome in premodern art, sometimes stimulating ongoing discussions concerning its history, its prevalence, and its relationship to hypothyroidism. This may be one of the earliest European representations of Down syndrome. The depiction of an individual with Down syndrome as an angel raises several questions regarding the status of such an individual in late medieval times and societal recognition of minor anomalies, as contrasted with major malformations, in their predictive value for disabilities."