5-Antique Prints-T.5-9.-BRAIN-ANATOMY-MENINGES-CRANIAL-de Lairesse-Bidloo-1728 Gerard de Lairesse Prints by Category > Medical-Anatomy

5 Antique prints, titled: ''T.5-9.'' - Tab. 5-9: A detailed suite of five anatomical engravings illustrating the layered coverings of the brain (the meninges), the vascular system surrounding the cranial cavity, and the origins of cranial nerves. These plates show progressive dissections beginning with the scalp and skull cap (calvaria) removed, revealing the dura mater (hard outer layer), including the falx cerebri (Zeissenvlies), sinuses, and other folds. Subsequent prints depict the superior sagittal sinus, its branching vessels, the tentorium cerebelli separating cerebrum from cerebellum, and introduce the middle and pia mater layers. One of the images features the brain inverted to display the cranial base, optic chiasm, pituitary gland, olfactory and optic nerves, and the medulla oblongata. Other views emphasize the brain's lobes, pineal gland, cerebellar arbor vitae, and an overview of the origins and distribution of the cranial nerves (I VII). Executed with clinical precision and fine shading, these engravings form a cohesive pedagogical presentation of neuroanatomy. Legend sheets included (Dutch).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.Text page included (if available, due to 2 text pages printed on ene shheet, otherwise a copy).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 to medical illustration. Condition: good, given age. Light foxing, creasing and soiling, mostly affecting the margin. Some tears in paper edges, not effecting the image. General age-related toning and/or occasional m