Robert had earlier portrayed two lovers in profile with a skull and flowers between them. In this image from Illness and Healing, the mood is altogether different as the x-ray of a skull appears between the heads of two doctors. The mystery of love is restated as the mystery of illness and diagnoses. The skull also connects to the “vanitas” theme in art history, where a skull is included in a sumptuous still life, to suggest the transient nature of earthly things and pursuits. The word “vanitas” comes from the Bible, (Eccl. 1:2, 1:2.8), translated in the King James version as “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” The meaning of vanity includes modern notions of false pride, futility, and misdirected ambition. The x-ray machine is a wondrous example of technology, allowing doctors to see invisible things, almost to see right inside a patient’s soul. But the skull also has a mocking quality, as if to caution the viewer that science can only go so far and that there are mysteries to life that remain impenetrable. Mixing medicine with religion is a theme that gains force as Robert’s series progresses. It’s interesting to note that Robert asked Rev. Waldo Eliot, a United Church minister from his hometown of Hantsport, to pose for the doctor on the right.