Their naked bodies are decoratively arranged, yet the particulars of their ailments are so visceral compared to the stiff representation of Hygiena that her allegorical power becomes farcical, as, by extension, does the mythic power of doctors.

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This succeeds far better with the wide array of comparative art examples in the catalog than in the exhibition itself, where a smattering of works by Henri Matisse, Henry Moore and others seem more like a distraction from the many exquisite Ice Age examples, which also include spectacular animal carvings and decoratively engraved tools.

WSJ: Artistry, Not Answers | Ice Age Art: Arrival of the Modern Mind | British Museum | By Tom L. Freudenheim