Court dwarfs: an overview of European paintings from fifteenth to eighteenth century

Endocrine. 2012 Dec;42(3):736-8. doi: 10.1007/s12020-012-9708-x. Epub 2012 Jun 4.

Abstract

Since antique times, dwarfs have been commonly employed at court, mostly as servants, entertainers, or personal attendants upon noble women and noblemen. Their presence at European Renaissance courts was very common, as demonstrated by their presence alongside to their masters or mistress in several artworks of that period. Aim of our paper is to derive clinical information regarding the type of dwarfism affecting people living and acting at European courts from an overview of paintings dating fifteenth to the eighteenth century.

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Dwarfism / history*
  • England
  • France
  • Germany
  • History, 15th Century
  • History, 16th Century
  • History, 17th Century
  • History, 18th Century
  • Italy
  • Medicine in the Arts
  • Netherlands
  • Paintings / history*
  • Spain