Duchenne and Gachet

“Duchenne de Boulogne: la mécanique des passions” is at the Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts, Paris, until 4 April, and “Un ami de Cézanne et Van Gogh: le docteur Gachet” is at the Grand Palais, Paris, until 26 April

Guillaume Duchenne, born in Boulogne in 1807, studied medicine in Paris and came under the spell of Laënnec, Dupuytren, and Magendie and eventually specialised in neurology. He was unconventional and eccentric and never held a hospital appointment. He discovered that external electrical …