Tables of the Skeleton and Muscles of the Human Body. Translated from Latin

1746

Hist. Coll. WE17 A337

London: Woodfall

In 1747, the German anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770) made his mark by producing his Tabulae Sceleti et Musculorum Corporis Humani (Tables of the Skeleton and Muscles of the Human Body), a self-funded project. He commissioned the artist Jan Wandelaar (1690-1759) to assist. Wandelaar had a sense of humour. Many of the skeletal forms are executed against whimsical backgrounds; in this instance, the famed Indian rhinoceros Clara, who was displayed to crowds throughout Europe between 1741 and 1758. Here is the engraved frontal image, with Clara as the backdrop.