Fantastic feeding funnels in medicine and art

摘要

As the festive season gets underway, many will turn their attention to the fine art of eating. Although the act of eating is a common theme in art, few images of artificial nutrition exist, and in particular the use of feeding-funnels. Mexican artist Frida Kahlo herself experienced the distress of requiring assistance with feeding and used her paintings as a means of expressing the physical and emotional torment she suffered. The centenary celebrations marking her birth came to a close at the end of September 2008 with a major exhibition of her paintings. On display was a remarkable image of a feeding funnel, in Without Hope (fig 1).