Book Description

This is the first book on this subject to be published in the English language for more than fifty years. It is a survey and anthology of the major developments, styles, and trends in anatomical illustration through more than 700 years. Anatomy was a preoccupation of renaissance scholars and artists in the universities and academies of Europe. By the mid 1500s sophisticated anatomy books were widely distributed. It was primarily the illustrations rather than the text that spread information on this descriptive science. This bookshows how anatomists and their collaborating artists presented the important aspects of their subjects to doctors, medical students, and others, coincidentally revealing their attitude to the living and the dead human body. A narrative history of the context in which these illustrations wereproduced is supplemented by a precise consideration of the anatomy shown in each plate reproduced. The book will appeal to anyone with an academic interest in anatomy, illustrative art, or figure drawing. It is a record of an important aspect of the development of modern medicine and surgery. It is lavishly illustrated and will be a handsome production with a slip case, thus it should have amarket amongst collectors of fine art and members of the medical profession.