Quarta musculorum tabula
€150
- Cartographer
- Thomas Geminus (attributed), after Andreas Vesalius
- Date
- ca. 1550 (attributed)
- Subject
- Human anatomy
- Folio / plate
- IV
- Dimensions
- 35.7 × 22.2 cm sheet
- Condition
- Good condition. Lower white margin enlarged; small spots.
About this piece
Quarta musculorum tabula is an engraved study after the fourth muscle figure in Andreas Vesalius’s De humani corporis fabrica of 1543. This impression is attributed to Thomas Geminus and catalogued circa 1550. The series belongs to the period in which Vesalius’s anatomical figures were beginning to circulate in copper-engraved form as well as in the original woodcuts.
The figure is seen from the front, with the head turned and the fingers pointing down. The angle of the head gives the image something of the presence of a portrait, even as the engraved lines and small letters ask the reader to study the exposed muscles and tendons. The lower hand is a particularly good place to see how gesture and anatomical detail work together.
The sheet measures 35.7 × 22.2 cm. The lower margin has been extended, and there are small spots and light creasing.
Condition: Good condition. Lower white margin enlarged; small spots.