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Clemenceau, Lautrec, and Meyer

James G. Ravin, MD

Arch Ophthalmol. 1999;117:951-954.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

Georges Clemenceau, the French physician who is better known as a statesman, was the political leader of France during World War I. He was also an author. His fictional story entitled "How I Became Presbyopic,"¹ which was illustrated by the famous post-Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, describes his encounter with an ophthalmologist he named Mayer. Although this very short story is little known today, and evoked little reaction when it first appeared in print, it is a curious period piece that sheds interesting light on the author, the artist, and the ophthalmologist who may have been the basis of the story.

In this tale, while Clemenceau was reading in his study, an ophthalmologist paid him a visit. They had never met before. The doctor was a handsome, well-dressed elderly man, who carried himself with "an air of benign superiority." His rosy complexion was framed by white . . . [Full Text of this Article]

THE STATESMAN

THE ARTIST

THE OPHTHALMOLOGIST

From the Medical College of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio.