Santiago Ramon y Cajal

Acrylic on canvas hand drawn coloured painting of Spanish neuroscientist Santiago Ramon y Cajal born on 1 May 1852. Widely thought of as the founder of neuroscience, Cajal was a pioneer of investigations into the microscopic structure of the brain and left behind hundreds of skilfully illustrated drawings of brain cells. Through his neuro-anatomical investigations, he provided evidence for what is now known as the "neuron doctrine". Cajal was awarded The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906 together with Camillo Golgi "in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system". He is depicted here holding a crystal ball containing individual nerve cells in his left hand. Neurones in the cerebellum are drawn in the background.