19th-century anatomical illustration: Part one – A portfolio of selected early 19th-century anatomical works

Background Since the appearance of Vesalius’s treatises, anatomical illustration has eluded unified conventions and strictly defined timeframes, resulting from the individual struggles of scholars and collaborating artists. The engravings discussed so far have been characterized by a distinctive style, and the convention in which they were created depended both on the state of knowledge about the structure of the human body and on cultural conditions. Aim This paper presents selected illustrated anatomical sources published in the 19th century. Conclusions The convention in which anatomical illustrations were created depended on both the state of knowledge about the structure of the human body and the scientific paradigms prevailing at a given time. With the development of the scientific canon of the human body, one observes a move away from non-scientific content in anatomical illustration, which acquired a strictly scientific character. Nineteenth-century anatomical illustration is the quintessence of this trend.