{"id":12191,"date":"2016-10-24T17:34:53","date_gmt":"2016-10-24T15:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/numerabilis.u-paris.fr\/medica\/blog\/?p=12191"},"modified":"2021-05-03T14:43:21","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T12:43:21","slug":"after-270-years-of-oblivion-van-hornes-atlas-of-anatomy-a-jewel-of-the-17th-century-has-been-rediscovered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/numerabilis.u-paris.fr\/medica\/blog\/index.php\/after-270-years-of-oblivion-van-hornes-atlas-of-anatomy-a-jewel-of-the-17th-century-has-been-rediscovered\/","title":{"rendered":"After 270 years of oblivion, Van Horne\u2019s atlas of anatomy, a jewel of the 17th century, has been rediscovered"},"content":{"rendered":"

[French version of this post<\/a>]<\/p>\n

251 drawings from the Dutch Golden Age by Johannes Van Horne and Marten Sagemolen<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"van-horne\"<\/a>In 1656, in Amsterdam, Rembrandt painted his second Anatomy lesson. At the same time, in Leiden<\/strong>, in the Netherlands Golden Age that was brimming with artistic and scientific innovations, anatomy professor Johannes Van Horne<\/strong> and artist Marten Sagemolen<\/strong> were working on an unprecedented anatomical<\/strong> atlas <\/strong>of the muscles in color. Although it remained unpublished, the European intelligentsia celebrated this work. Then, strangely enough, these drawings fell into oblivion in the course of the 18th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

Four large volumes<\/strong> comprising 251 drawings<\/strong>, systematically organized in several series and constituting a large part of this anatomical atlas, have just been identified in the collection of the BIU Sant\u00e9 (Health Inter-University Library).<\/p>\n

The Library is now unveiling this jewel, which should be of major interest to both historians of medicine and sciences<\/strong> and historians of art<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_6418-2\"<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Identification was made by Hans Buijs<\/strong> (Fondation Custodia, Paris<\/em><\/a>) on Friday, June 17, 2016. One single sentence found in the margin of a drawing dated 1654 revealed the name of the artist<\/strong>, but also, with absolute certainty, that of his patron, as well as important pieces of information on the constitution of the collection.<\/p>\n

\"Marten
Marten Sagemolen\u2019s signature, dated 1660 (Ms 29)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Johannes
Johannes Van Horne\u2019s name, in Ms 29<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The very same sentence is indeed featured in the notes of famous physician Herman Boerhaave<\/a><\/strong> (1668-1738), one of the former owners of these volumes. Tim Huisman<\/strong>, in his doctoral dissertation in 2008<\/a>, The Finger of God, Anatomical Practice in 17th-Century Leiden<\/em> (Leiden University, 2008. p. 73 sq<\/em>), published and documented these fragments. After examination of the four manuscripts under this bright new light, there can be no doubt whatsoever on their identity.<\/p>\n

\"Small
Small myology of the arm and shoulder, dated 1654 and signed by Marten Sagemolen (Ms 29)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We publish an article<\/a> that establishes the authenticity of the documents, gives part of their history, and provides an inventory of the four volumes. The article is subject to modifications: potential corrected versions will be available from the present column, at the same address.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Download the article: Johannes Van Horne and Marten Sagemolen\u2019s myology: Four volumes of anatomical drawings of the Golden Age rediscovered
\nat the Biblioth\u00e8que interuniversitaire de sant\u00e9 (Paris)<\/em><\/a>, by Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Vincent and Chlo\u00e9 Perrot (final <\/em>version, August 31, 2016. License CC By-SA 4.0<\/a><\/em>)<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We also publish first-step digitizations<\/strong> (please<\/em> see the links below<\/em>). They will allow researchers and the general public to have immediate access to these documents, which are quite fragile, very dirty in places, and require considerable restoration work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Links to the digitizations in Medic@<\/em><\/strong>:
\nNum\u00e9risation de travail du Ms 27<\/a>
\nNum\u00e9risation de travail du Ms 28<\/a>
\nNum\u00e9risation de travail du Ms 29<\/a>
\nNum\u00e9risation de travail du Ms 30<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Myology
Myology of the torso seen from profile (Ms 28)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Most of this monumental ensemble is at a scale of<\/strong> 1:2<\/strong>: the drawings of the human figure, from head to toes, are 83 cm high. This very unusual scale accounts for the large format of the drawings.<\/p>\n

\"Large
Large myology of the full body: back view (Ms 30)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Quite remarkably, the authors chose to represent a live man leaning on a graduated\u00a0measuring rod, which indicates the importance they attributed to the accuracy of measurements <\/strong>in their work.<\/p>\n

\"Large
Large myology of the full body: live subject leaning on a graduated measuring rod (Ms 30; the whites have turned to soot black over time)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These documents are of amazing richness<\/em>: the originality and the ambition of the whole project, the \u2013 probably original \u2013 organization of the volumes, the large number of drawings, the multiple notes, the traces of the artist\u2019s technical work and the history of the provenance \u2013 foreshadow particularly interesting and productive research<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Myology
Myology of the torso and the arm with a movable part (Ms 28)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since at least 1784, Van Horne and Sagemolen\u2019s myology has been next to another set of the 17th<\/sup> century Dutch anatomy, the 106 brilliant drawings painter G\u00e9rard de Lairesse<\/a><\/strong> produced for Bidloo (1685), who was also a professor of anatomy in Leiden. This famous set cast a dark shadow on the set now re(dis)covered, dissimulating its interest since the third quarter of the 18th<\/sup> century. The series of original drawings by Lairesse, which, as the drawings by Van Horne and Sagemolen, has been part of the collection of our library since March 1796, is available online in our digitized library Medic@<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Myology
Myology of the back (Ms 27)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the last few months, we have been digitizing all the drawings<\/a> in our collection. This work triggered this partly serendipitous discovery. The Preparatory drawings for the Trait\u00e9 complet de l\u2019anatomie de l\u2019Homme<\/em> by J.-M. Bourgery<\/a>, another set of major importance for the history of anatomical illustration, can already be consulted online in Medic@<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Contacts<\/h2>\n