Set of 2 Rare Antique Anatomy Prints-MUSCLE MAN-SKELETON-RHINOCEROS-Grignon-Albinus-Knapton after Wandelaar-1747

Subject: These two monumental anatomy plates  from the English Knapton ed. show the bones and muscles of the front and back of a male figure, standing in front of a rhinoceros. Wandelaar placed his skeletons and musclemen against lush ornamental backgrounds to give them the illusion of vitality, using contrasts of mass and light to produce a three-dimensional effect. The most famous plates in the atlas depicts a skeletal figure standing in front of an enormous grazing rhinoceros, sketched by Wandelaar from the first living specimen in Europe, which had arrived at Amsterdam zoo in 1741 (Norman). These two plates are considered some of the finest anatomical plates ever made.

Source: This print originates from: “Tabulae sceleti et musculorum corporis humani”, the English ed. first published in London: 1747. The magnum opus of Albinus, professor of surgery at Leyden. The splendid plates are the result of 30 years of collaboration between the scholar Albinus and the artist Wandelaar, pupil of Fokkema and De Lairesse and illustrator of many 18th cent. books published in the Netherlands. “Albinus’s Tabulae selecti et musculorum, based on his concept of the “ideal man” (homo perfectus), is among the most artistically perfect of anatomical atlases. Albinus and his artist Jan Wandelaar used some ingenious methods to prepare the illustrations (…) with the aid of compass and ruler. In addition Wandelaar placed his skeletons and musclemen against lush ornamental backgrounds to give them the illusion of vitality, using contrasts of light and mass to produce a three-dimensional effect.

The paper is a wove type paper with an occasional watermark of J. Whatman or HS&S amd dated 1828, pointing to a later edition of the Knapton edition.

Condition: Front view: Very good with tear in right margin at rhino tusk, slightly extending into image, backed; two very small tears in left margin, backed; Paper edges slightly toned from framing. Rear view: Very good with tear in right margin, slightly extending into image, backed; Tear at left bottom margin and very small tear at bottom right, backed; a few tiny pinholes in image and margin. Minor creasing and a few thinner paper spots. General age related toning.

The image size is ca. 39.2 x 55.5 cm.

Storage Location: PCO-Expo