The heart of Vesalius must have filled with joy when he saw the final
page of his book turned from the press. The treatise which founded
modern anatomy bears this title:—
_Andreae Desalii Brurellensis, Scholae medicorum
Patabinae professoris, de humani corporis
fabrica Libri septem. Basileae._
MDXLIII
A fortune was lavished upon the illustration and publication of this
grand work. To use the words of Fisher, “it was and is a glorious book,
a rare and precious monument of genius, industry and liberality”. It
abounds with curious initial letters bearing quaint and interesting
anatomical conceits, each one teaching its lesson. One of these, reduced
in size, introduces the present chapter; and it was this letter that
Vesalius used in his opening sentence: _Os caeterarum hominis partium
est durissimum & ardissimum, maximaque terrestre & frigidum, & sensus
denique praeter solos dentes expers._
[Illustration: JOANNES OPORINUS]
The first edition of the _Fabrica_ is a folio volume with magnificent
illustrations on wood, all carefully printed by Joannes Oporinus
(1507-1568) of Basel.
The title-page is a beautiful engraving which represents Vesalius at
work dissecting a female subject. He is surrounded by interested
spectators who crowd the amphitheatre. The abdomen of the subject is
opened. Vesalius has raised his left hand; his right hand grasps a small
rod which rests on the viscera. The great teacher is talking to his
pupils. Placed at the head of the dissecting table is an upright
skeleton which grasps a long staff with its right hand. In the audience
are many persons of different rank. To the left a naked man is climbing
a pillar, while to the right, and below, a dog is being brought into the
arena. To the left, and below, is a monkey which appears to enjoy the
demonstration. Above, in the architecture, we see the monogram of the
publisher, Oporinus; in the centre, on a shield, are the three weasels
of the Vesalius family, and below, is a shield which bears the
privilegium. This old engraving is one of the most spirited and
elaborate to be found in the whole range of medical literature. In the
1725 edition, for which Jan Wandelaar made copperplate reproductions of
the original figures, the title-page is altered:—the monogram of
Oporinus is absent and the architecture is slightly changed.
[Illustration: MARK OF OPORINUS]
Who was the unnamed artist? It is noteworthy that Vesalius does not
state who drew the illustrations, or who cut them in wood, for his
_Fabrica_. He only states that this book has cost him a monstrous amount
of labor in the preparation of the dissections, and in the directing of
the eye, the hand, and the intelligence of the artist. He complains
bitterly of the obstinacy of the artist, who, at times so tormented him
that he—Vesalius—considered himself more unfortunate than the criminal
whose body had been dissected[21]. It was probably owing to this
unpleasant experience that Vesalius omitted the artist’s name. The great
anatomist speaks regretfully of the large sums which he was obliged to
pay, in order to induce skilled artists to undertake this class of work.
He states that they were much more interested in painting Venus and The
Graces than in drawing pictures of skinned and foul smelling bodies.
Moehsen[22] assumes that Vesalius had Titian in mind when he penned
these thoughts, but this is questionable. It is not surprising that
eminent artists should have disliked anatomical drawing, at a time when
antiseptic injections and preserving fluids were not known. Foul odors
had no terrors for the great Belgian, who haunted cemeteries for
anatomical material and often kept parts of cadavers in his bedchamber
for weeks at a time.
For a period of two centuries the Vesalian pictures were ascribed to
Titian, but on insufficient grounds. The famous Venetian painter was
over sixty years of age at the time of the publication of the _Fabrica_;
his services were much in demand, and he was signally honored by the
Spanish emperor, Charles the Fifth. His powers remained undiminished
until shortly before his death, which occurred in 1576. He had the
ability to make the Vesalian illustrations, but it is doubtful if he had
the time. Although Titian may have taken an interest in these anatomical
plates, it is not now believed that he drew them.
[Illustration: JAN STEPHAN VAN CALCAR]
The Vesalian pictures have been attributed to Christoforo Coriolano; but
he could not have been the artist, since his earliest work dates from
1568. He is known to have furnished the drawings for Jerome
Mercurialis’s _De Arte Gymnastica_, and for Vasari’s _Lives of the
Painters_. Roth is of the opinion that Vesalius himself made most of the
illustrations; but such a view would credit the comparatively short and
busy life of the great anatomist with too much accomplishment.
I conclude that the illustrations for the _Fabrica_, like the osseous
figures in the _Tabulae Anatomicae_, which Vesalius issued in 1538, were
made by Jan Stephan van Calcar (+1546), the favorite pupil of Titian.
Sandrart[23] states that van Calcar made the drawings for the _Fabrica_;
that he went to Venice in 1536 or 1537; that he studied under Titian;
and that his paintings were of such merit that they were often mistaken
for those of Titian, Raphael, and Rubens.
Van Calcar was a Fleming, a native of Kalcker in the Duchy of Cleves.
The date of his birth is not known. His death occurred at Naples in
1546. He was highly esteemed by Vesalius who speaks of him as ranking
“with the divine and happy wits of Italy”. The anatomical plates which
Vesalius issued in 1538 were made, he states, by van Calcar:—_sumptibus
Joannis Stephani Calcarensis_. These plates, which appeared in the form
of pictorial broad sheets, or _Fliegende Blätter_, may be likened to the
Herald who goes in advance to announce the coming of the King. They were
engraved on wood, and, like their companion pictures in the _Fabrica_,
they were unprecedented in magnitude and in minuteness.
[Illustration: SECOND VESALIAN PLATE OF THE MUSCLES
(From the “Fabrica”, 1543. Reduced one-half)]
The Vesalian plates vary greatly in merit. The most satisfactory ones
are those depicting the undissected body and the bones and muscles. The
artist was not at his best in drawing the nervous system, although it is
claimed that Vesalius had prepared his neurologic specimens with great
care. For the use of artists, the best plates are the three skeletons
and the four entire myologic figures in the _Fabrica_. The first
myologic figure, showing a man who has been divested of all skin, fat,
and superficial fascia, presents the muscles of the anterior portion of
the body beautifully delineated. Vesalius took much pride in this plate,
and directed the attention of artists to it. The second plate, which is
constructed along similar lines, shows the body in its lateral aspect.
The head is thrown slightly backward, the right hand pointing to the
earth and the left raised towards the horizon, and the whole attitude of
the subject calls to mind the position which an orator would assume when
addressing an audience. The third myologic plate is similar to the first
one, but the muscles of the face are exhibited to better advantage and
the aponeuroses, absent in the first plate, are here present. The fourth
plate, which is the ninth in Vesalius’s work (_nona musculorum tabula_),
presents the muscles of the posterior part of the body. The other
myologic figures show the deeper muscles, layer by layer, and are of
value to an artist who wishes to study the effect of their action upon
the superficial parts of the body. Hence many of these figures have been
reproduced in works on art-anatomy. The artist who studies these plates
should remember that the figures in question are divested of skin, fat,
and superficial veins—all of which must be supplied, in order to avoid
giving too great prominence to the muscles. The two naked figures
contained in the _Epitome_ are properly clothed in skin and are of great
artistic merit. They also are to be seen in numerous works on
art-anatomy. Thus, in one of the earliest books on anatomy for the use
of artists (_Abrégé d’anatomie accommodé aux arts de peinture et de
sculpture._ Paris, 1667, 1668), Rogers de Piles and François Tortebat
have used the three skeletons and seven myologic figures taken from the
_Fabrica_ and the _Epitome_. In the preface of his book, de Piles says
that he does not think it is possible to produce better figures than
those found in the works of Vesalius. That he was not alone in this
opinion is shown by the fact that many other artists, who have composed
treatises on art-anatomy, have drawn freely from the Vesalian
storehouse. An Italian, Giacomo Moro, in his anatomy for the use of
artists, (_Anatomia ridotta ad uso de’ pittori e scultore._ Venice
1679), reproduced nineteen of Vesalius’s figures in copperplate.
[Illustration: NINTH VESALIAN PLATE, OF THE MUSCLES
(From the “Fabrica”, 1543. Reduced one-half)]
The popularity of Vesalius’s anatomical figures among painters was due,
not only to the intrinsic worth of these illustrations, but also to the
erroneous belief that the original drawings were the work of Titian.
This opinion found expression on the title-pages of several works on
art-anatomy. For example, in 1706, Moschenbauer, of Augsburg, issued a
folio volume illustrated with Vesalian figures cut in wood, with this
title:—_Andreae Vesalii, Bruxellensis, des ersten besten Anatomici,
Zergliederung des menschlichen Körpers auf Mahlerey, and Bildhauer-Kunst
gerichtet, die Figuren von Titian gezeichnet_. An anonymous book,
_Notomia di Titanio_, appeared in Italy about the year 1670.
The Vesalian figures of the skeleton were also issued in single sheets
with moralistic verses appended. Moehsen cites one of these with the
inscription printed in French:
“De cet objet affreux tu parois rebutté,
Est c’est ce que dans peu cependant tu dois étre:
Apprens, mortel, a te connoître
Ce miroir est le seul, ou tu n’est point flatté”.
Another legend reminds the reader that he is only dust, and to dust he
must return:—“_Vous estes poudre, & vous retournéres en poudre_”.
[Illustration: A HUMAN SKULL RESTING ON THE SKULL OF A DOG
(From the “Fabrica”, 1543)]
CHAPTER TENTH
Publication of the Epitome
[Illustration: Illuminated capital]
Upon the thirteenth day of August, 1542, Vesalius finished the _Epitome_
of his great book. The text and illustrations for it were forwarded to
Basel by the same merchant who conveyed the manuscript and drawings of
the _Fabrica_. The title of the lesser work is as follows:—
_Andreae Vesalii Bruxellensis, Scholae medicorum
Patavinae professoris, suorum de Humani corporis
fabrica librorum Epitome. Basil., et officina
Joannis Oporini, Anno, 1543, mense Junio._
This work is extremely rare. It belonged to the class of _Fliegende
Blätter_ and was issued unbound. Perfect copies of it are rarely found.
The first twelve sheets are printed on both sides; the two last leaves
are printed on one side only, in order that they might be cut out and
pasted together to show two complete figures. Hence these sheets are
often lacking. The _Epitome_ appeared in the same year and in the same
month as the _Fabrica_, but the latter work was printed first.
The _Epitome_ is dedicated to Philip, the son of Charles the Fifth, who,
after his father’s abdication, was known as Philip the Second of Spain.
The title-page is printed from the same plate as the larger work; and
Vesalius’s portrait also is present. From the fact that the dedication
bears the inscription: _Patavii, idibus Augusti 1542_, the erroneous
opinion arose that this work preceded the _Fabrica_.
[Illustration: TITLE-PAGE OF VESALIUS’S “EPITOME”, 1543]
Among the illustrations found in the _Epitome_ are seven that are not in
the large book; namely, five myologic plates, and the figure of a naked
man and one of a woman. The myologic figures in the _Epitome_ differ
from those in the _Fabrica_ in this respect: the muscles are drawn in
their natural position, group, and order, so that the surgeon, in
treating wounds and in performing operations, may have the correct
relations of the parts in mind. Also, the one side of the figure differs
from the other: the one showing the superficial muscles, while the other
exhibits the deeper musculature. The muscles in the _Fabrica_, with the
exception of four complete myologic figures, are represented as they
appear in anatomical demonstrations, particular attention being given to
their origins and insertions. For the purpose of the artist, the best
figures are the three skeletons and the four complete myologic figures
which are found in the _Fabrica_.
Two beautiful copies of the _Epitome_, printed on vellum, are in
existence. One is in the British Museum and is thought to be the copy
which was owned by the celebrated Dr. Richard Mead; the other one is in
the possession of the University of Louvain.
Vesalius speaks modestly of the _Epitome_, which he regards as an index
or appendix of the _Fabrica_, and is for the use of beginners in
anatomy.
[Illustration: SKELETON BY VESALIUS
(From the “Fabrica”, 1543. Reduced one-half)]
CHAPTER ELEVENTH
Contents of the Fabrica
[Illustration: Illuminated capital]
The reputation of Vesalius rests securely upon the _Fabrica_. This grand
book, which is dedicated to Charles the Fifth, consists of six hundred
and fifty-nine folio pages of text; thirty-four pages of index, disposed
in three columns to the page; six pages of preface; and two pages of a
letter which is addressed to “Joannes Oporinus, the renowned professor
of Greek letters in Basel”. The work is printed in excellent style. The
printed page measures 8 by 12½ inches, including the marginal notes.
There are fifty-seven lines to a page, averaging twelve words to a line,
or approximately seven hundred words to a page. This was written, amid
many duties and distractions, in the short period of three years. It is
truly a monument of diligence.
The text of the _Fabrica_ is clear and concise; it describes what has to
be described and does it well. The errors which Vesalius rectified, and
the improvements which he made in anatomy, are so numerous that
references can be made to only a few of them. His anatomical writings
are of such bulk that they cannot be reviewed adequately within the
limits of the present chapter. As regards the _Fabrica_, we may say,
with Richardson, that “The dissections and the plates are the book”.
[Illustration: FIFTH VESALIAN PLATE OF THE MUSCLES
(From the “Fabrica”, 1543. Reduced one-half)]
The _Fabrica_ contains the rudiments of anthropology as well as the
first illustrations of comparative anatomy. Vesalius portrays a human
skull resting upon the skull of a dog. He also shows a simian and a
canine sacrum and coccyx, to prove his contention that Galen’s anatomy
was derived from dissection of the lower animals. The _Fabrica_ is more
than an anatomy. Throughout the work physiology goes hand in hand with
the anatomical description. The use and function of each part of the
body is given in short, clear sentences.
The _Fabrica_ is built upon a practical plan. It treats of anatomy in a
logical manner and is composed of seven books, which deal with the
following subjects: (1)—Bones and Cartilages; (2)—Ligaments and Muscles;
(3)—Veins and Arteries; (4)—Nerves; (5)—Organs of Nutrition and
Generation; (6)—Heart and Lungs; and (7)—Brain and Organs of Sense.