VESALIUS, Andreas.
£350,000 · Offered by Sokol Books
“It cannot be denied that the Fabrica is the most famous anatomical work ever published, to this day one of the most beautiful in existence and the milestone in all medical history which definitely showed a fresh break from the old traditions”. Heirs of Hippocrates 172. The De Humani Corporis (Fabrica) is an extraordinarily complete anatomical and physiological study of every part of the human body, based on Vesalius’ first hand examinations and five years’ experience as the public prosector in the medical school at Padua. The five books deal with the bones, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, abdominal viscera, thoracic organs and brain. Although Vesalius’ study of medicine began just after Galen’s anatomical work was becoming known, Vesalius did not just improve it, he superseded it. Subsequently the history of anatomy has been divided into two periods, pre-Vesalius and post-Vesalius. “The Fabrica, a handsomely printed folio, as remarkable for its series of magnificent plates which set new technical standards of anatomical illustrations and indeed book illustration in general. They have generally been ascribed to an artist of Titian’s school… Vesalius was the most splendid and most comprehensive of a large number of anatomical treatises of the sixteenth century…. No other work equals it…. It was translated, reissued, copied and plagiarised over and over again and its illustrations were used or copied in other medical works until the end of the eighteenth century.” Printing and
- Binding: Hardcover
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