Richard Tennant Cooper (1885-1957) was an obscure British artist whose metaphorical phantasmic paintings show the negative effects of both disease and medical cures on the human body. There is not much information available about Cooper, except that he also depicted the horrors of the First World War. This posting will be updated as we discover more about this unique artist.
The painting above is “Syphilis” (1912).
Above: “A sickly female invalid sits covered up on a balcony overlooking a beautiful view, death (a ghostly skeleton clenching a scythe and an hourglass) is standing next to her” (1912).
Below: “An unconscious naked man lying on a table being attacked by little demons armed with surgical instruments; symbolising the effect of chloroform on the human body.” (1912).
“A giant claw pierces the breast of a sleeping naked woman, another naked woman swoops down and stabs the claw with a knife ; symbolising science’s fight against cancer.” (1910).
“Diphtheria trying to steal a small child” (1910).
“The angel of death (a winged skeletal creature) drops some deadly substances into a river near a town; symbolising typhoid” (1912).
