Depiction of differential etiologies of dwarfism by Il Veronese (1528-1588)

Paolo Caliari (1528–1588), mainly known as il Veronese, is regarded as one of the most influential painters of the Italian Renaissance. Some of his depictions may conceal interesting insights into the historical presentations and social relevance of different types of dwarfism. Like Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), he chose to depict dwarfs, acting as court jesters to the amusement of their masters. At least two examples may be identified and have only briefly touched upon by Castillo-Ojugas in his 1985 review of rheumatology in art [1]. He focused on the genu recurvatum of a dwarf from the painting “The Finding of Moses” (Fig. 1a) and on another such dwarf in the “Wedding at Cana” (Fig. 1b).