The famous anatomical work by Andreas Vesalius even featuring corrections: one of the greatest milestones in the research of human anatomy with 42 detailed copperplates
Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano

Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano
Long hindered by the Church’s ban on “violating” the human body, anatomy rapidly progressed in the 16th century
42 detailed copperplates of the human body illustrate the work by Juan Valverde de Amusco (b. ca. 1525)
Valverde even corrected errors in the images of the famous anatomical work by Andreas Vesalius (1514–64)
Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano
Short Description
A collaboration of Spanish and French artists and craftsmen that yielded one of the greatest anatomical works of the 16th century. It is the Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano by Juan Valverde de Amusco (b. ca. 1525), published in Rome in 1556. The work features 42 masterful copperplates and eventually appeared in four languages and sixteen editions, four which are attributed to Gaspar Becerra (1520–1570), a student of Michelangelo (1475–1564), while the rest are improved copies of woodcuts found in the De humani corporis fabrica, a fundamental work of anatomy by Andreas Vesalius (1514–64) which was published in 1543. This treatise represents the magnum opus of the most important Spanish anatomist of the 16th century.
Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano
The 16th century was a time when the study of anatomy, long hindered by the Church’s ban on “violating” the flesh of the human body, progressed by leaps and bounds. The leading Spanish anatomist of the period was Juan Valverde de Amusco (b. ca. 1525), a native of Amusco who emigrated to Italy ca. 1542, studying medicine in Padua and Rome. He settled in Rome as a doctor and professor of anatomy. He is best known for his anatomical work, titled in English History of the Composition of the Human Body, which was published in 1556 by the Roman printing house of Antonio Salamanca (1479–1562) in collaboration with Antonio Lafreri (ca. 1512–1577), a Frenchmen. The work features 42 masterful copperplates and eventually appeared in four languages and sixteen editions, attesting to the fact that Valverde’s work did more than any other to spread and improve upon the famous treatise by Vesalius.
Masterful Copperplates of the Human Body
Valverde’s work is distinguished by its 42 detailed copperplates of the human body, four of which are attributed to Gaspar Becerra (1520–1570), a student of Michelangelo (1475–1564), while the rest are improved copies of woodcuts found in the De humani corporis fabrica, a fundamental work of anatomy by Andreas Vesalius (1514–64) which was published in 1543. Although Vesalius accused Valverde of plagiarism, claiming he had only performed a few dissections, Valverde corrected errors in the images, e.g. the muscles of the eyes, nose, and larynx. The most iconic of these graphic masterpieces is the “Muscular Man”, who is depicted holding his own skin in one hand and a knife in the other, and is comparable to Michelangelo’s depiction of St. Batholomew in the Sistine Chapel’s The Last Judgement. It is believed that Becerra’s illustrations were then engraved by Nicolás Beatrizet (ca. 1507 – ca. 1570), another Frenchmen. Thus, this work from Rome brought together some of the greatest artists and craftsmen of 16th century Spain and France.
Codicology
- Style
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano“
Historia de la Composicion del Cuerpo Humano
- Publisher
- Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 1998
- More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Matching Works
Book of Simple Medicines
As useful as it is beautiful: Robinet Testard's gold-plated masterpiece of naturopathy for the Count of Angoulême
Experience MoreFlora Sinensis
A special herbarium with 23 hand-colored woodcuts: the first systematic encyclopedia concerning the botany of distant China
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Botany / Herb Books
Are you interested in botany and herbal pharmacology? These manuscripts represent a bridge between the wisdom of...Experience moreMedicine
Eye of newt, and toe of frog? Hardly. Botanical remedies were the backbone of medieval medicine, and these recipes are...Experience moreAlchemy
What is the philosopher’s stone and what other secret knowledge of the alchemists has been passed down in enigmatic and...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo