Andreas Vesalius and the ‘Fabrica’ in the Age of Printing

Art, Anatomy, and Printing in the Italian Renaissance

Edited by Rinaldo Fernando Canalis Edited by Massimo Ciavolella

Book cover: Andreas Vesalius and the ‘Fabrica’ in the Age of Printing

Extent: 335, 335 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Early Modern & Renaissance Studies, Earth & Life Sciences , Medicine

Series: Cursor Mundi

Series volume number: 33

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(November 2018)

ISBN: 9782503576237

Price: $138.00

Out of stock

Explores the origins and impact of the most famous book in the history of medical science and a key product of the Italian Renaissance: Andreas Vesalius’s De humanis corporis fabrica (1543).


Andreas Vesalius’s fame derive from his writing of what is perhaps the most famous book in the history of medical science, De humanis corporis fabrica (1543), a treatise that within a few years transformed the imperfect art of anatomy into a modern science. This extraordinary work, however, came into being not just because of its author’s genius and industry, but for other reasons that remain (despite a vast body of scholarship) inadequately explored. These questions, the historical moment from which they stem, and the setting in which Vesalius produced the Fabrica, form the core of this volume. Some of these significant factors include the short time during which De fabrica was produced, the debated authorship of its illustrations, and its immediate and subsequent impact on the teaching of anatomy. The book’s significance within the context of present day views of its historical value, and the ever increasing fascination it evokes among scholars and collectors alike, are also examined.

  • Edited by Rinaldo Fernando Canalis
  • Edited by Massimo Ciavolella