Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934)

Portrait of Cajal drawn from observation of Jorge Zockoll's photograph at the Instituto Cajal by Dawn Hunter, 11" x 14," marker and pen on paper.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852–1934), as Cajal’s scientific work expanded, he stopped painting as a primary practice and turned instead to photography as a surrogate artistic medium. In his writings, he frames photography as a means of animating memory and presence, and he used self-portraiture consciously to shape how he would be seen. By producing and circulating carefully staged photographs—ranging from youthful, performative identities to austere laboratory portraits—Cajal actively curated his public image. These images did not merely document the scientist; they helped construct the visual archetype through which others would later perceive and portray him.