1627 Casserio Anatomy Print, Tabulae Anatomicae, Renaissance Muscle Écorché Wall Art

What makes this 1627 plate from Giulio Casserio's Tabulae Anatomicae the most dramatically powerful print in The Millaner Archive's anatomy collection is its extraordinary fusion of Renaissance fine art and medical science — engraved by a pupil of Tintoretto, posed like a Michelangelo sculpture, and yet carrying the full anatomical authority of the greatest medical school in 17th century Europe, making it one of the supreme achievements at the crossroads of art and medicine in human history.

Published in Venice in 1627, Tabulae Anatomicae was the posthumous masterwork of Giulio Casserio — Professor of Anatomy at the University of Padua, the institution where Vesalius had revolutionised anatomy a century earlier.

Casserio died in 1616 before completing the atlas, and its publication was overseen with engravings by Odoardo Fialetti — a direct pupil of the great Venetian master Tintoretto. 

The result is an atlas where anatomical science and Renaissance artistic tradition are so completely fused that the distinction between them dissolves entirely.

This plate — Tab. XVI — presents a male écorché figure in a breathtaking dramatic pose: the body twisted in classical contrapposto, one arm raised overhead, the other hand actively peeling the skin away from the torso to reveal the layered musculature beneath. 

Every major muscle group is labelled with letter annotations in the confident italic hand of a 17th century Venetian press — latissimus dorsi, trapezius, the deep spinal extensors — rendered in dense, extraordinarily skilled cross-hatched engraving that builds three-dimensional volume with a mastery that rivals the finest printmakers of the Italian Renaissance.

Behind the figure, a detailed Italian landscape unfolds — a river with rowing boats, cypress trees, distant hills and a coastal town dissolving into the horizon — placing this anatomical subject in the same visual tradition as a Leonardo or Raphael background study. 

The figure appears to emerge from the landscape itself, as if sculpture come to life.

At The Millaner Archive, we do not merely duplicate historical scans — we thoughtfully revitalise their original majesty.

This museum-grade reproduction has been meticulously optimised to preserve every engraved line, every tonal gradation, and the warm aged paper character of this irreplaceable 398-year-old masterpiece.

Premium Presentation: Printed on heavy, archival-grade textured fine art paper with a soft matte finish perfectly replicating the weight and feel of the original 1627 Venetian folio paper.

Flawless Resolution: Every engraved line, muscle annotation, and landscape detail preserved with absolute museum-grade clarity.

Sizing Options: The dramatic tall portrait format, extraordinary engraving quality, and Renaissance artistic pedigree make this exceptional for art history collections, medical spaces, dark academia interiors, and serious gallery walls.

Available in standard gallery framing sizes (e.g., A4, A3, 11×14", 16×20").

Sustainably Made: Printed to order using premium, fade-resistant archival mineral inks.