Cultural Calendar, Cultural Program, Exhibitions, News

Medicine and Charity in Activities!

From June until September 13, enjoy the cultural program organized in conjunction with the exhibit Medicine and Charity: The Hôtels-Dieu from the Middle Ages to New France.

Preparing for a Good Death: The Religious at the Cornerstone of the Hôtels-Dieu

A lecture and discussion by Claire Garnier and Dominique Deslandres, historians

This session will be presided by Paul Labonne, curator of the exhibition Medicine and Charity and director of the Musée des Hospitalières de l’Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.

Informations

Date:Thursday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.

 Lenght: 1:30

Language: French

Activity: A Two-voices Lecture

Place: Jeanne-Mance Room, Musée des Hospitalières, 201 Des Pins Ave. West, Montreal, H2W 1R5

Cost: Museum admission (includes access to the lecture and the exhibition)

Reservation: 514-849-2919

Presentation

During this conference and discussion, two historians whose research focuses on the socio-religious history of the Old Regime in France and its colonies will examine the legacy and adaptations of the medieval model of the Hôtel-Dieu, which gave rise to the first hospitals in New France. As places of welcome and piety dedicated to the poor, the Hôtel-Dieu offered a form of healing that addressed both the soul and the body, based on a set of rules and rituals. This joint presentation will provide a better understanding of the scope of the institutional legacy of the Hôtels-Dieu, with a particular focus on their religious dimension. 

Gardening and Healing: A Crossed Journey Through the Exhibition Medicine and Charity and the Garden of the Hospitalières Nuns’ Monastery

Juliette Veilleux, master’s student in art history specializing in the history of gardens

Date: Saturday, August 15, 10am

Lenght: 2 hours

Language: French

Activity: Guided Tour

Place: Jeanne-Mance Room, Musée des Hospitalières, 201 Des Pins Ave. West, Montreal, H2W 1R5

Cost: Museum admission (includes access to the lecture and the exhibition)

Reservation: 514-849-2919

Presentation

Evolving through time and space, gardens bear witness to the memory of societies, notably by documenting certain specific interactions between people and their physical and sociocultural environment. In the Middle Ages, with the emergence of Hôtel-Dieu hospitals, gardens, for example, provided food supplies and medicinal plants. They thus played an active role in the care provided, while also offering a space for contemplation and reflection. This combined tour of the exhibition Medicine and Charity: Hôtel-Dieu from the Middle Ages to New France and of the garden of the monastery of the Hospitalières nuns will provide a better understanding of the function of gardens within the traditional organization of Hôtel-Dieu hospitals and the unique history of the Hospitalières’ monastery garden, while highlighting the role of women in Montreal’s hospital and horticultural heritage.

 

Art, Medicine, and Miracles: Images in French Hospitals and Italian Ospedali

Fannie Caron-Roy, art historian

Date: Thursday, August 20, 7pm

Lenght: 1h30

Language: Français

Activity: Lecture

Place: Jeanne-Mance Room, Musée des Hospitalières, 201 Des Pins Ave. West, Montreal, H2W 1R5

Cost: Museum admission (includes access to the lecture and the exhibition)

Reservation :514-849-2919

Presentation

The tradition of hospitality is not limited to the French-speaking world: throughout Europe, healthcare institutions have played a fundamental social role since the Middle Ages. While works of art generally occupy a central place in these settings, images do not serve the same functions everywhere. This lecture offers an exploration of the model of Italian ospedali, where the role of these works extends far beyond the realm of devotion and decoration. Some of these institutions were even founded around images reputed to be thaumaturgical, capable of healing both bodies and souls. Through accounts of miracles, examples from medical treatises, and the examination of works of art, this lecture will explore an idea that may seem puzzling today but was central to early modern Italy: images possessed a real power to heal.


Roundtable discussion and guided tour with Magali Villetard and Bruno François, curators of the collections at the Hôtel-Dieu de Tonnerre and the Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune

Date: Sunday, September 13, 1:30pm

Language: French

Place: Jeanne-Mance Room, Musée des Hospitalières, 201 Des Pins Ave. West, Montreal, H2W 1R5

Cost: Museum admission (includes access to the lecture and the exhibition)

Présentation

For the last weekend of the Medicine and Charity exhibition, the Musée des Hospitalières will welcome Magali Villetard and François Bruno, curators of the collections at the Hôtel-Dieu de Tonnerre and the Hôtel-Dieu des Hospices Civils de Beaune, respectively.

More to come… 

 

Image: Stained-glass window depicting Margaret of Burgundy, founder of the Hôtel-Dieu de Tonnerre, 14th century, collection of the Hôtel-Dieu de Tonnerre. Photo: Magali Villetard