Plates from the "Most Splendid Anatomy Ever Published."
Paolo MASCAGNI, (1752-1815), Anatomiae universae icones, Double-
elephant folio. Engraved title, dedication leaf, 44 black & white outline
plates; 44 plates printed in backround color & finished by hand. All drawn,
engraved & hand-colored by the Italian artist Antonio SERANTONI. 990 x 715
mm. Pisa: Niccolo Capurro, 1823-32.
Mascagni's exquisite anatomy, said to be the largest medical book ever
produced, depicts the dissection from skin to skeleton of a human male
about 6 feet tall. The entire body can be illustrated by placing three
plates end-to-end. Supplementary plates display the female organs,
including the pregnant uterus, placenta, and fetus. Mascagni worked on this
masterpiece for 25 years, and after his death in 1815, the Mascagni family
contracted with the artist Antonio Serantoni to complete the work. All
plates were drawn, engraved and hand-colored with meticulous detail,
beauty, and accuracy by Serantoni from 1823-32.
Published in Pisa, Italy, the first edition anatomical plates are
legendary in the history of anatomy and are unique in the history of
graphic art. Only five or six copies are known to exist in the United
States. Some copies are entirely in black and white, and because of its
rarity, many specialists are unfamiliar with the work. In the field of
human anatomy this work is comparable to Audubon's large works on birds and
quadrupeds.
Mascagni's fame as an anatomist and connoisseur of anatomical
illustration began with the 1787 publication of his beautifully illustrated
book on the discovery of the lymphatic system, Vasorum lymphaticorum
corporis humani historia et ichnographia. This detailed work presented
Mascagni's celebrated discovery of over 50 percent of the lymphatic vessels
known today and is also included in the Center for the History of the Health Professions.
