The Illustrations from the Works of Andreas Vesalius of Brussels

By J.B. Saunders and J.B. de C.M. Saunders

Book Overview

The works of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564) have long been regarded among the great treasures of the Renaissance. Published as medical books while he was teaching anatomy and dissection at the University of Padua, they include the Tabulae Sex (1538), intended as an aid to students; the magnificently illustrated De Humani Corporis Fabrica (1543), and the companion volume, the Epitome (1543). Individually, these books are milestones in the history of medicine. They also offer one of the most magnificent collections of anatomical drawings ever published. The plates were executed with such vitality and originality that they have been attributed to the most talented illustrators of the sixteenth century, not to mention Vesalius himself. Many of the drawings, in fact, were products of Titian's famous atelier. For this edition of the Vesalius illustrations, Dover has combined the best existing plates and text. The illustrations have been reproduced from the sumptuous (1934) Munich edition of Vesalius titled Icones Anatomicae . The Munich plates were struck for the most part from the original wood blocks then in the collection of the Library of the University of Munich. These priceless art objects were destroyed in the bombing of Munich during World War II. Aside from the original copies of the woodcuts (of which only a few complete sets are known), the Munich restrikes are the best representations of the Vesalian anatomical drawings, for they preserve much of the freshness and richness of the 1543 edition. The text of this Dover edition has been faithfully reproduced from an edition of Vesalius published by World Publishing Company in 1950. The editors, distinguished authorities on sixteenth-century medicine, have provided a very comprehensive history of Vesalius, his career, and excellent explanations of the legends surrounding the illustrators, artists, and publishers involved with the production of his books. No other source will provide the general reader, bibliophile, art historian, artist, or historian of science and medicine with such complete data on Vesalius and his fabulous anatomical illustrations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000NI1D2S
• ISBN13: 9780486209685
• Release Date: June 1973
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.78 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.9" x 11.9"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful

I have nothing particularly new to add to the other reviews. I use this in my teaching and my students love it. It is really an excellent work and quite a good edition. If you are intereted in the uropean scientific revolution (or teach it) this text is a nice primary source on the subject.

Marvellous...

This book is one that every single medical student or history enthusiast must own. It gives particularly accurate insight on the life and work of one of the most brilliant and important medical geniuses of the "rebirth". With unsurpassed detail and beautiful arrangement, anatomy has not been represented in such an incredible and accurate way, given the context and the times in which Andreas Vesalius developed his research (dissection was outlawed and Galenus' theories on anatomy, which were based on animal anatomy, were considered dogma) and the extremely poor conditions and knowledge of the human body up until that point in time. Like all great scientists and researchers, Vesalius' recognition came after his death, but it is still a great way to honor him to get to know a little about his life and work, which this book does in such a fine way. The quality of the paper in which it was printed lets the reader get the whole picture and because of it's oppasity you can enjoy all the details as if you were looking at the original work. The price is also quite a bargain, which, needless to say, is a fair trait in itself. As a personal note, when I first read and saw some of the paintings within Vesalius' "De Humani Corporis Fabrica", that was the moment when I realized my destiny was in the medical profession; and years later I can see it was not a bad choice at all.

Absolutely Incredible!

I first heard about Andreas Vesalius when I read about his work in BODY OF KNOWLEDGE. His drawings have been the basis for THE ATLAS OF HUMAN ANATOMY and GRANT'S DISSECTOR and other reference books used in Anatomy classes at medical schools throughout the country.What makes his work incredible is to think the fascinating illustrations of the human anatomy were researched and drawn by Vesalius in 1543. His book has been called "one of the most noble and magnificent volumes in the history of printing" and "one of the greatest treasures of Western Civilization". More incredible is the manner in which he performed the dissections and the relative accuracy of the drawings which have survived to this day. The introduction gives an absorbing and enlightening account of Vesalius' life in the first half of the 16th century. The book is for the curious and those interested in anatomy, art, graphic arts and printing. You will read and look in awe and wonder about the history and progress of medicine and science.

Medical Materworks

Andreus Vesalius, whom I speculate was a student of Da Vinci, shows the body in all sorts of poses, while in each page you see the body "drips" off its skin and muscles all the way down to the bones. Some masterful work and imagination employed here! Just marvelous! Taken from his monumental work De Humani Corporis Fabrica, which is still used today in the medical fields. Also included are plates from his Epitome of the De Humani Corporis Fabrica and Tabulae Sex. Essentially this is only the illustrations, but it also includes a lengthy introduction as well as excerps from the original text. Highly reccomended to the art student and medical student for this indispensible reference. Also a great book just to appreciate some amazing art. Some of my favorite plates are of the nervous sytem in which it is a full body posed standing upright. I imagine how Andreas created this, and also realized how well he must have known the body's anatomy in order to attempt such a feat. Awesome!