Imagining Vesalius is an exciting new edited monograph celebrating and exploring the revolutionary 7 volume anatomical atlas of Andreas Vesalius, Published in Padua in 1543. De Humani Corporis Fabrica was an anatomical breakthrough since, for the first time in 1300 years, a physician had dared contradict Galen, the famous anatomist, and did so with irrefutable proof, using human cadavers instead of a mix of human and animal models. It was also an artistic success since it ushered in a tradition of artistic renditions of dissections in beautiful woodcuts from the studio of Titian, in nearby Venice. Sparing no expense or effort, Vesalius, a previously unknown 28 year old anatomist, had his atlas printed in Basel by the well known Swiss printer, Johannes Oporinus. After a predictable but transient opposition by staunch Galenists, it became an instant and enduring success throughout Europe setting a new standards for anatomical atlases.
Fifty-four award-winning poets, essayists, scholars and translators, including six Guggenheim Fellows, a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and a winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition, have used these dramatic woodcuts as inspiration for ekphrastic creations in poetry and prose, Using the stunning woodcuts in this famous book as inspiration, writers and artists have contributed prose poems and art works on subjects ranging from a parent's autopsy, immortality through dissection, murder, amputation, the role of women in dissection to the anatomy of gaze and organ donation.
Translations from important Neo-Latin and Italian writers, including Jakob Balde, Philip Melanchthon, Gaspar Brusch and Benedetto Varchi also grace the book - all newly translated. Four appear for the first time in English. Translations are accompanied by scholarly notes and a critical apparatus.
Following the translations is a generous resource section of references and websites related to Vesalius, late Medieval anatomy, Medieval medicine and the translated authors.
Finally there are short descriptions of the contributors.
https://literatureandmedicine.com