DIAGNOSTIC WALNUT-SHELL: QUACKERY, MAGIC AND MEDICINE IN THE WORLDVIEW OF D.I. HARMS

The text analyzes the biographical and cultural context of the memories of Harms by the artist A.I. Poret. Harms’ attitude to clinical medicine, occult medical practices and the phenomenon of medical quackery, falsification of medical knowledge as a conscious subversive practice is being reconstructed. Medical subjects and images of doctors are considered in the prose and dramatic works of Harms. An assumption is put forward about the impact on Harms of the image of Agrippa Nettesheim in the novel by Valery Bryusov “The Fiery Angel” and the book by J. Orsier “Agrippa Nettesheim: the famous adventurer of the 16th century” (published in translation into Russian in 1913 with a preface by Bryusov). The prospect of further study of the topic is outlined.