Emily White is a doctoral candidate specializing in European art (c. 1400—1600) from Florida State University. Working under the supervision of Dr. Stephanie Leitch, her research investigates the visual history of medical graphics and the dissemination of vernacular knowledge through prints of surgery. Her dissertation, “Visual Surgery: Printing in Early Modern Europe,” observe the visual influx of body parts, brains, and blood as printed materials held the attention of surgeons, medical practitioners, and laymen alike in the early modern period. Placed alongside surgical instruments of questionable use, these prints made epistemic claims circulated through surgical manuals. At the Herzog August Bibliothek, she analyzes German text-based sources of surgery from the turn of the sixteenth century. This is the repertoire of practical surgery rather than visual examinations of anatomical studies. Her research participates in the art historical discourse concerning the intersection of art and science, particularly within the history of medical imagery.

https://arthistory.fsu.edu/phd-students/phd-student-profiles/