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The art of memory

From Ancient Greek “memory palaces” to symbols, pictures, annotations and rhymes, Julia Nurse explores some of the ingenious and sometimes beautiful mnemonic methods that we have devised to help us to remember.

Words by Julia Nurse

  • In pictures

About the author

Black and white photograph of Julia Nurse, a white woman with brown hair, smiling. She wears an animal-print dress and the corners of paintings are visible in the background.

Julia Nurse

(she/her)

Julia Nurse is a collections research specialist at Wellcome Collection with a background in Art History and Museum Studies. She currently runs the Exploring Research programme, and has a particular interest in the medieval and early modern periods, especially the interaction of medicine, science and art within print culture.