Antique Print-TITLE-PAGE-ANATOMY-FRONTISPIECE-de Lairesse-Bidloo-1728 Gerard de Lairesse Prints by Category > Frontispieces-Title Pages,Prints by Category > Medical-Anatomy

Title page of Govert Bidloo's "Ontleding des Menschelyken Lichaams" (Dissection of the Human Body). This grand allegorical engraving forms the frontispiece to one of the most ambitious anatomical atlases of the 17th century. At center, a seated female figure likely symbolizing Anatomia or Truth gestures toward a skeletal scene of dissection in the architectural background, where figures examine a cadaver. Behind her, Fame (or Science) trumpets the importance of knowledge. In front, a muscular winged Father Time steps forward, bearing a scythe and an hourglass, symbols of mortality and the transience of life. He also clutches a book, perhaps alluding to the anatomical text itself. To the right, three putti interact with anatomical models and illustrations: one lifts a skull, another unrolls a drawing, and the third consults a large folio volume. They emphasize both study and innocence in the pursuit of scientific understanding. Below the central statue pedestal is the title inscription: 'ONTLEDING DES MENSCHELYKEN LICHAAMS. Gedaan door Govard Bidloo, Anatomie Chirurgyn, Professor', engraved within a wreath of laurel. The scene is framed by heavy drapery on the left and architectural columns on the right, creating a theatrical mise-en-scène of Baroque anatomical grandeur. This engraving sets the tone for the remarkable anatomical plates that follow, combining scientific inquiry with allegorical and moral themes.Made by Gerard de Lairesse after Govard Bidloo (author).Medium: Copperplate engraving on hand laid (verge) paper.Sheet size: 34.5 x 51 cm (13.58 x 20.08 inch). Image size: 26 x 42 cm. (10.24 x 16.54 inch).BIDLOO, ANATOMY, MEDICAL, COPPER ENGRAVING, ANTIQUE PRINT | BOEK-BIDLOOBACKGROUND INFORMATIONOntleding des Menschelyken Lichaams', Utrecht, 1728, published by Jacob van Poolsum. A later Dutch version of Govard Bidloo's most famous work, his monumental Anatomia humani corporis published in Amsterdam in 1685, containing 107 copperplate engravings. Like so many large and expensive anatomical atlases of the time, the work was not a financial success, and in 1690 he published a Dutch translation entitled, Ontleding des menschelyken lichaams, using the same plates. When this edition did not sell well either, Bidloo's publisher sold 300 of the extra printed plates to William Cowper, a noted English anatomist. Cowper published the plates with his own, English language text in Oxford in 1698 under the title, Anatomy of the humane bodies, without mentioning Bidloo or the artists of the original plates. Cowper went so far as to use Bidloo's engraved allegorical title page, amended with an irregular piece of paper lettered: "The anatomy of the humane bodies .," which fits over the Dutch title (see a comparison here). A number of vitriolic exchanges took place between Bidloo and Cowper, including several pamphlets published in each anatomist's defense. Cowper claimed, without much evidence presented, that the plates were not Bidloo's at all, but that they were commissioned by Jan Swammerdam (1637 1680) and that after his death Swammerdam's widow had sold them to Bidloo. The illustrations in Bidloos' work were drawn by Gerard de Lairesse (1640 1711) and engraved by Abraham Blooteling (1640 1690) and Peter van Gunst (1659? 1724?).Reference: Choulant, L. History and bibliography of anatomic illustration. Trans. and annotated by Mortimer Frank. (New York: Hafner, 1962). Pp. 250-253; Russell, K. F. British anatomy, 1525 1800: a bibliography of works published in Britain, America and on the Continent. 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire: St. Paul's Bibliographies, 1987). Introduction and nos. 211-214; National Library of Medicine (US) Unique ID: 2312021R.Biography engraver: Gerard de Lairesse (1640 1711) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and art theorist, known for his classical and allegorical themes.Biography artist: Govard Bidloo (1649 1713) was a Dutch physician, anatomist, and poet, renowned for his anatomical atlas and contribution