Encyclopedia Anatomica (TASCHEN Icons Series) [Paperback]

TASCHEN (Creator), Museo La Specola Florence (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 3822855103 | ISBN-13: 978-3822855102 | Publication Date: March 15, 2001

Gathering together photographs of stunningly realistic wax anatomies from Florence's Museo La Specola, "Encyclopedia Anatomica" is a revealing journey through the human body. Although reduced, the the most important views and studies from the original Taschen volume have all been included.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822855103
• ISBN-13: 978-3822855102
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #723,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Museums & Collections
  • #33 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science > Biological Sciences > Anatomy
  • #79 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Art History > Themes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! X Files meets the Medicis!, March 11, 2001

By 

Julie Ann Kirk (Chino, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica (TASCHEN Icons Series) (Paperback)

I ran across this book in a small shop in Rome (wish I had seen it here first) - while the text of my copy is all in Italian (And I don't read Italian) the pictures were enough to sell me on wanting to see the exhibit it represents. It is chalk full of beautiful photographs of the human anatomical exhibit at La Specola, a zoological museum in Florence, Italy - kind of on the strange macabre side, but if you like that, you will love this book. The focus of the human exhibit is a number of incredible 18th century wax sculptures that were done for the study of medicine and strange ailments of the body. As a figure drawing student, I am very interested in learning as much as I can about anatomy - this book has some beautiful artistically well done photographs of these various anatomical structures which are a wonderful study tool for me. Hey, all I can say is that the price was so good and I loved the book enough to buy a couple copies and give one as a gift - and I will add that the price here on Amazon is better than what I paid.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book is Better than the Museum, July 26, 2008

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica (TASCHEN Icons Series) (Paperback)

Stumbled on the Museum La Specola on a trip to Florence about five years ago. The museum, which is primarily a museum of natural history, is run down and dusty. They save these anatomical models for the end of the self-guided tour.

Even covered with dust, they are spectacular. Created towards the end of the 18th Century, they are cut-away wax models of the human body that were used to instruct medical students.

They have been cleaned up for the pictures in this book. The pictures are great -- lots of large full-color pictures of the highest quality, perhaps because the publisher (Taschen) is a publisher of fine art books.

As an aside, I saw a horror movie on TV one night in which one of these models was used as a freshly opened abdomen of a young woman who had been murdered by an evil doctor It looked pretty realistic.

Anyway, buy the book, then go visit the museum when you're in Florence (it's next to the Pitti Palace).

If this page shows it as unavailable, try Encyclopedia Anatomica (Klotz)

5.0 out of 5 stars EL ESPLENDOR DE LA ANATOMIA, March 21, 2009

By 

C. Bellegarrigue "COBRABRAVA" (El Salvador) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Encyclopedia Anatomica (TASCHEN Icons Series) (Paperback)

Uno de los mejores archivos de imagenes anatomicas es precisamente el representado en este libro, del museo de la Specola, Florencia, donde gracias al profundo amor a la medicina y las artes de los Medicis, nos llega uno de los mas preciados legados de la historia; es sorprendente el dominio que ya en esos años se tenia del cuerpo humano y sus componentes; las esculturas son tan minuciosamente elaboradas que parecen cadaveres reales y son un verdadero deleite para cualquier cientifico.