For centuries, artists and scientists have been fascinated by the structures of the human body. Featuring works of art from the 16th century to today, the Getty Research Institute exhibition “Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy” explores the theme of anatomy and art and the impact of anatomy on the study of art.
1:
Muscles of the Neck, Etching and engraving inked à la poupée in red and black in Giuseppe del Medico, Anatomia per uso dei pittori e scultori, (Rome, 1811), pl. 16, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84-B28069)
“Flesh and Bones celebrates the connection between art and science and the role of art in learning,” said Mary Miller, director of the Getty Research Institute. “This exhibition draws on the Getty Research Institute’s rich and varied holdings to tell the story of two disciplines that have long been intertwined. I believe visitors will find meaningful connections with the way artists and scientists have inspired one another for centuries.”
2:
Dissected Legs in a Landscape, by 1616, Francesco Valesio (Italian, active 1598–1624) after Odoardo Fialetti (Italian, 1573–1626/27) Engraving in Giulio Casseri, Tabulae anatomicae, p. 91, bk. 4, pl. 31, in Adriaan van den Spiegel, Opera quae extant, omnia (Amsterdam, 1645), Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84- B2833)
From spectacular life-size illustrations to delicate paper flaps that lift to reveal the body’s interior, the body is represented through a range of media. In Europe, the first printed anatomical atlases, introduced during the Renaissance, provided new visual maps to the body, often composed of striking images. Landmarks of anatomical illustration such as the revolutionary publications of Vesalius in the 16th century and Albinus in the 18th century are represented as well as little-known rarities such as a pocket-size book of anatomy for artists from over 200 years ago.
3:
Statue of the Gladiator in the Villa Borghese, [. . .] Considered Anatomically, Charles Errard (French, ca. 1606/9–1689) Engraving in Bernardino Genga and Giovanni Maria Lancisi, Anatomia per uso et intelligenza del disegno: Ricercato non solo su gl’ossi, e muscoli del corpo humano; Ma dimostrata ancora su le statue antiche più insigni (Rome, 1691), pl. 30 Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84- B2835)The exhibition, which explores important trends in the depiction of human anatomy and reflects the shared interest in the structure of human body by medical practitioners and artists, is organized by six themes: Anatomy for Artists; Anatomy and the Antique; Lifesize; Surface Anatomy; Three Dimensionality, and The Living Dead. The last looks at the motif of the representation of the dead as living, with skeletons and anatomized cadavers capable of motion rather than inert on a dissecting table.
4:
Dissection Scene, Jacob van der Gracht (Dutch, 1593–1652) Etching in Jacob van der Gracht, Anatomie der wtterlicke deelen van het menschelick lichaem (The Hague, 1634), title page, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84- B4212)
“Artists not only helped create these images but were part of the market for them, as anatomy was a basic component of artistic training for centuries,” said exhibition curator Monique Kornell. “Featuring selections from the GRI’s impressive collection of anatomy books for artists as well as prints, drawings, and other works, this exhibition looks at the shared vocabulary of anatomical images and at the different methods used to reveal the body through a wide range of media, from woodcut to neon.”
5:
Lamenting or Praying Skeleton Domenico Bonaveri (Italian, 1653–1731), Etching and engraving in Domenico Bonaveri, Notomie di Titiano ([Bologna], ca. 1685–1690), pl. 2Anatomists and artists have approached the problem of how best to describe the body’s complex and invisible interior with a variety of representational strategies, ranging from the graphic to the sculptural and, recently, the virtual. From paper-flap constructions that allow viewers to lift and peer under layers of flesh to stereoscopic photographs that mimic binocular perception and project anatomical structures into space, three-dimensionality was inventively pursued in the pre-digital age to cultivate an understanding of anatomy as a synthetic whole.
6:
Abdominal Dissection and Detail of the Gallbladder, Jan Steven van Calcar (North Netherlandish, ca. 1515–ca. 1546) Woodcut in Andreas Vesalius, De humani corporis fabrica libri septem (Basel, 1543), bk. 5, p. 365 [465], figs. 12, 13 Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (84- B27611)7:
Head of the Apollo Belvedere, Rendered Anatomically, Nikolaj Utkin (Russian, 1780–ca. 1868) after Jean-Galbert Salvage (French, 1770–1813) Etching and engraving from two plates in Jean-Galbert Salvage, Anatomie du gladiateur combattant, applicable aux beaux arts (Paris, 1812), pl. 1, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (85- B12146)
8:
Skeleton and Muscle Figure with a Laurel Crown, Samuel van Hoogstraten (Dutch, 1627–1678) Etching in Samuel van Hoogstraten, Inleyding tot de hooge schoole der schilderkonst, anders de zichtbaere werelt (Rotterdam, 1682), pl. A Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (86-B12032)
9:
The Muscles of the Eye in its Natural Position and the Muscle of the Eyelid Shown Separately, Engraving in Thomas Bartholin, Anatome ex omnium veterum recentiorumque observationibus, 5th rev. ed. (Leiden, 1686), 507, bk. 3, pl. 9, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (93-B10050)
10:
Dissection of the Chest and Abdomen Thomas Sinclair (Scottish, ca. 1805–1881), after Joseph Maclise (Irish, ca. 1815–ca. 1880) Hand-colored lithograph in Joseph Maclise, Surgical Anatomy (Philadelphia, 1851), pl. 26 Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (1373-163)
Écorché Figure, Seen from the Front 1780, Antonio Cattani (Italian, active 1777–ca.1790) after Ercole Lelli (Italian, 1702–1766), Etching and engraving, printed from five plates on five sheets of paper, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2014.PR.17)
13:
Écorché Figure, Seen from the Back 1781, Antonio Cattani (Italian, active 1777–ca.1790) after Ercole Lelli (Italian, 1702–1766), Etching and engraving, printed from five plates on five sheets of paper, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2014.PR.18)
14:
Second Level of Muscles, 1781, Antonio Cattani (Italian, active 1777–ca.1790) after Ercole Lelli (Italian, 1702–1766), Etching and engraving, printed from five plates on five sheets of paper, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2014.PR.19)
15:
Third Vision from Mirrors of the Microcosm Lucas Kilian (German, 1579–1637) after Johann Remmelin (German, 1583–1632) Engraving in Johann Remmelin, Catoptrum microcosmicum (Augsburg, 1619), Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (2017- B292)
16:
Infant Skull 1791, Johann Friedrich Bause (German, 1738–1814) after Adam Friedrich Oeser (Austrian, 1717– 1799), Color etching and stipple, inked à la poupée with hand coloring, Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles (P990016)
Learn more about the exhibition “Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy” at getty.edu.
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