Encyclopedia Anatomica

by Taschen (Creator), Georges Didi-Huberman, Monika Von During

Presents a collection of waxworks depicting the human anatomy in all its dazzling complexity. This book features a selection of wax bodies and body part and organ studies; from skeletons to vein structures, organs to nerves, and arteries to delicate pores of the skin. It also features the human body mapped out in meticulous and exacting detail.

Genres: Art, Science, Nonfiction, History, Medicine, Reference, Photography

574 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

'Taschen is an art book publisher founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen in Cologne, Germany. It began as Taschen Comics publishing Benedikt's extensive comic collection. Taschen has been a noteworthy force in making lesser-seen art available to mainstream bookstores, including some fetishistic imagery, queer art, historical erotica, pornography and adult magazines (including multiple books with Playboy magazine). Taschen has helped bring this art into broader public view, by publishing these potentially controversial volumes alongside its more mainstream books of comics reprints, art photography, painting, design, fashion, advertising history, film, and architecture.' - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jennifer deBie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photographs detailing the collection of one of the most interesting museums in the world, truly incredible! Bought this Encyclopaedia for my research rather than just using the digital copy on archive.org and was so glad I did, the quality of the photos is brought into sharp relief in when viewing them on the page in a way that just doesn't come through with on-screen images for me.

The Encyclopaedia also contains a series of essays on the history of wax anatomical figures and how they came to be a kind of cottage industry in Florence that were, again, very useful for my research at the time.

Not sure who else, besides niche researchers, is buying something like this, but it's definitely one that I'm glad to have in my collection!

[Baal Of · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book, packed full of photographs of highly detailed anatomical wax models. The artistry on display is nearly unbelievable in the attention to fine detail, and some of the pieces are so realistic looking it difficult to comprehend that they are wax. I do wish there had been more information identifying the actual parts, which could have made it more educational. Not a book for the squeamish, but for those who have a lay-person's fascination with anatomy, this book fits the bill.

[Paul Groos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing photographs of incredibly detailed anatomical models made out of wax. This is both a science and a form of art. Tiny vessels and nerves have been handcrafted to educate doctors and others about the human body, without having to resort to using cadavers. The photographs are well made and impressive even in the relatively small sized book.
What annoyed me a little were the texts. Sometimes the information in the texts was different in the different languages. The longer articles in the front were readable, but nog very enjoyable or informative. They were written by art historians who either think everybody knows every obscure artist, term and technique they’re referring to, or (probably) want to show of their superior knowledge of this matter and belittle the uneducated reader.
But one doesn’t read this book for its text.
I learned a lot, both terminology and actual organs I didn’t remember from biology class. Also, some organs are positioned quite differently from what I always believed.
Quite enjoyed this bizarre little book.

[Alise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing photographs of anatomical waxes. Definitely not for the weak-hearted as the photos get very detailed, very quickly and probably not the best way I could have spent my time preparing for my anatomy midterm, but definitely a lot of fun if, like me, you enjoy getting a more visual explanation of how the human body works or at least looks from the inside.

The book is divided into chapters that each depict a different bodily system and start with one or two lovely paragraphs explaining what can be seen in the coming chapter as well as its historic significance and some interesting information about the work done in the Museo La Specola Florence.

All that's left to do now is to someday travel to Italy and visit all of its wax museums in real life to appreciate the dedication and hard work put into every single wax model.

[Rene Ijzermans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een boek dat al jaren op diverse plaatsen in mijn huis rondzwerft en ik soms als fascinatie voor het "eigen huis" inkeek. Prachtige illustraties. Ik houd van Taschen. Het boek gaat nu ergens een definitieve plek in huis krijgen.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always browsing this book, so it'll probably always be currently-reading for me, and never already-read. Hundreds of glossy, full-color pages of anatomical waxes that are very realistic looking! This is a beautiful and fascinating book -- also relatively cheap, considering. The downside is that it's not really a book for learning names and functions -- stuff is named, but it's all in captions, so sometimes it can be difficult to tell what's what. And there's no descriptions of what different parts do -- actually, there's not much writing at all. In that sense, this is more of a coffee table book, for looking at as opposed to reading, but for what it is, I think it's amazing. Of course, I'm the kind of person who likes looking at pictures of body parts.

[Jenny Schmenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, swoon! There's been this museum in Italy for hundreds of years with insanely detailed wax anatomical models. You can see great photos of every kind of part in every phase of dissection, and the best thing is that when there are visible heads or hands, they're done in a beautiful Renaissance repose.

[Niles Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book contains photos of beautiful wax replicas of human parts from long before any of us were born. the poses of the figures are desperate and romantic.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best photographic study of the wax anatomical model collection at La Specola (which makes my own puny collection of half a dozen look pathetic).

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous book. Loved it, but then I am biased because of my fascination with medical things.

[Justin Renquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, content and the art and presentation etc.
Highly recommended.

[Haruna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Taschen publisher.

[Justin Renquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

love this book - like all Taschen books!!