Encyclopaedia Anatomica (Klotz) [Paperback]

TASCHEN (Creator)

Book Description

Series: Klotz | Publication Date: November 4, 2004

A veritable cathedral to the human form They say that learning its arrangement is like learning the road map of an entire country. It has for centuries been the site of the most concentrated human enquiry, and while many of its mysteries have been solved, it continues to fascinate, provoke and disturb. An understanding of the anatomy of the human body remains the foundation of medical science. It has intrigued everyone from the Greeks through to Leonardo da Vinci. And it fascinated the curious of the 18th century. Witness the eccentric Museo La Specola in Florence, a waxworks celebration of the interior. With 27 wax bodies and 1500 part and organ studies, collected by Peter Leopold von Lothringen from places as diverse as churches, hospitals and universities, this is a veritable cathedral to the human form. Whether it be the skeleton or vein structures, organs or nerves, arteries or the complexities of the skin, all are here reproduced in extraordinary detail.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Few catalogues of science museums have the power to mesmerize their readers. Encyclopaedia Anatomica does just this, page after page, with its high-quality color reproductions of the collection of Florence's Museo La Specola. This amazing set of anatomical models, made mostly of wax, are so brilliantly lifelike that the casual reader is sure to mistake them for extraordinarily well-preserved bodies. Organized by anatomical section, each of hundreds of models are displayed to show off their most flattering aspect; despite the respectful attitudes held by the book editors and designers, the macabre nature of the exhibits is irrepressible. Particularly eerie are the tableaux of Gaetano Giulio Zumbo, who used similar techniques to create terrifying metaphorical portraits of the harsh life of the 18th century. While the descriptions aren't specific enough to yield much insight into the anatomical detail, this would still make an excellent companion to a text or laboratory manual. The introductory essays cover the history of the museum, the artists, and their techniques thoroughly and engagingly. If the inside of the body is as beautiful to you as the outside, you should find Encyclopaedia Anatomica a charmingly powerful work. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Monika von During is Professor of Neuroanatomy at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. Her brief medical explanations help to guide both lay-reader and medical expert through this graphic encyclopaedia of anatomy. Marta Poggesi is a biologist, and has been curator of the Museo Zoologico La Specola since 1969. Parallel to research projects, she manages and catalogues the zoological collection, to which the anatomical wax bodies and parts belong. Georges Didi-Huberman is professor at the College of Social Sciences in Paris. His contribution underscores the tension inherent in this collection: between religious votive wax figures, mannerist art and wonder chambers and the Enlightenment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 703 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (November 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822838489
• ISBN-13: 978-3822838488
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,551,694 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very realistic wax models of human anatomy, March 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica: Museo La Specola Florence (Klotz) (Paperback)

It is astonishing what the medical wax sculptors were able to do with wax. The models are so realistic and detailed that I had to check the introduction to make sure that they were not actual preserved specimens. Almost every page is dominated by a single high-quality photo of a wax model of some part of human anatomy, and there are 700 pages. There is very little text and almost no naming of the details within a single photo, just a title (giving the scientific names of the major features being illustrated) and brief caption describing the whole model. So this is not a substitute for an anatomy book (though it would make a great companion). Every part of anatomy that I can think of is well-represented, usually by many sculptures showing different layers and cutaway views - brain, heart, lungs, skeleton, eyes, sexual organs, cutaway views of stages of pregnancy, the different parts of the digestive system, musculature, incredibly detailed networks of blood vessels, inner ear, and many groups of different body parts to show how they fit together. My one criticism of the book is that I wish it had a larger format. I have verified the dimensions stated by Amazon, which are 7.87 x 5.70 for the version that I am reviewing.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica: Museo La Specola Florence (Klotz) (Paperback)

A great book for those who interested in this unique collection of anatomical wax models. Incredibly well photographed and documented, doesn't skimp on any details. It's good to see this not very well known collection credited and recorded in a thourough reference.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The marriage of Science and Art, May 17, 2001

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica: Museo La Specola Florence (Klotz) (Paperback)

ENCYCLOPEDIA ANATOMICA is a detailed examination of the collection of wax images of the dissected human body which were created in the late 18th century and are housed in a unique museum - Museo La Specola in Florence, Italy. Much like "Dr Tulp's Anatomy Lesson" this collection is not for the faint of heart. Every organ, muscle, nerve, bone, nerve, and vessel of the body have been meticulously sculpted in wax. In ways this is like a Madame Toussad's Wax Museum gone mad. Yet the prosections are accompanied by some truly beautiful three dimensional tableaux of quasihistorical scenes, such as "The Plague", "Syphillis", "The Burial", and others which are dramatic sculptures in themselves. The commentary is brief but informative describing how the models for the body parts were dissected and created. As stated above, this little tome is not for everyone, but for artists who want to study the interior of their models and for all of those who just want a better glimpse of how we are assembled, this book is a treasure.