Anatomie artistique. 2 vols.
Publisher Information: Paris: Plon, 1890.
Richer, Paul (1849-1936). Anatomie artistique: Description des formes extérieures du corps humain au repos et dans les principaux mouvements. 2 vols. (text and atlas). xv, 270pp. (text); viii pp. plus 110 lithographed plates, several with accompanying printed keys. Paris: E. Plon, Nourrit et Cie., 1890. 355 x 273 mm. Presentation binding of half morocco, cloth boards, gilt arms of Oxford University on the front covers, light edgewear, front hinge of Vol. I cracking but overall sound. Minor foxing, fore-edges a bit frayed but very good.
First Edition. Richer, a physician and skilled artist, authored several works on the iconography of disease, including two with Charcot (see Garrison-Morton.com 4575 and 6605). His Anatomie artistique was an attempt to modernize the teaching of artistic anatomy in keeping with the rise of Impressionism. “With the growing acceptance of Impressionism, the attitude of art theory and public opinion began to change. To any sensitive observer following its evolution closely, it was soon evident that it was not just anatomical teaching being challenged but the academic system as a whole. After 1880, in the field of artistic anatomy, several attempts were undertaken by Paul Richer to modernize this way of teaching; the most important of these was his Anatomie artistique, published in 1890 . . . The pictures of the Anatomie artistique were all exclusively created for this book. The style shows, for the first time since the predominance of medical illustration, an alignment with modern graphic art” (B. Röhrl, History and Bibliography of Artistic Anatomy, pp. 210-214; 436-437). Curiously, all of the figures in the book’s plates are male. Choulant-Frank, p. 410. Garrison-Morton.com 10600.
Book Id: 45062Price: $750.00