Quentin's marvellous medicine

With his characteristic wit, observation and imagination, illustrator Quentin Blake’s latest exhibition “As Large As Life” at the Foundling Museum in London is a powerful antidote to new year blues. The 60 works on display are a much-needed dose. Commissioned by four hospitals in Britain and France, they demonstrate the considerable potential of art in healthcare.

The Foundling Museum documents the lives of thousands of children brought up in the Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first home for abandoned babies and London’s first public art gallery. A tradition of artists creating work specifically for the Foundling Hospital in the 1740s goes back to the paintings of William Hogarth and his contemporaries. Blake’s “Our Friends in the Circus” hangs alongside this work, produced for a mental health ward for older adults at Northwick Park Hospital. In a case of experience triumphing over youth, elderly characters display their continuing theatrical prowess. With smiles etched on their faces, they walk tightropes, juggle and even breathe fire, as children watch them with incredulity.

His “Ordinary Life,” created for the Vincent Square Eating Disorder Clinic, offers scenes from the everyday. Here and there we see a hint of food, the inclusion of which is neither crude nor didactic, presented as part of the quiet enjoyment of the image. From teaching a dog new tricks with the help of some treats, to feeding the birds on the windowsill or shopping in a bustling market, the scenes are comforting in their ordinariness.

In another scene, “Mothers and Babies Underwater,” Blake’s approach is more celebratory, with the artist capturing the first look between mother and child. In the highly charged environment of the maternity wing, the release, movement and freedom depicted in the images assert a calming influence over proceedings and remind soon-to-be mothers of the tranquillity that will follow the pains of labour.

These are pictures that have elicited reactions from unresponsive patients, staved off boredom in others by introducing them to new characters and stories to be untangled, transported some back to their youth. Blake’s discussions with consultants and healthcare workers in preparation for this project have not just improved the experience of being in hospital, but have also helped us to better understand the patient mindset. As the Foundling Museum opens these private images to the public, we’re reminded of that curious quality in Blake’s illustrations that cannot fail to lift the spirits.