The Quick and the Dead - Artists and Anatomy

The Quick and the Dead: Artists and Anatomy explores the imagery of anatomical illustration, ranging from the macabre to the fantastical and from exquisite fine drawings to extraordinary prints of self flaying bodies. Such work is rarely seen outside scholary circles.

This forgotten world of bodily representation has shadowed Western art for several centuries since the HIgh Renaissance, particularly for teaching purposes in the form of lavish atlases of anatomical prints, detailed drawings and wax cadavers. Broad-sheets, almanacs, flap anatomies and small scale objects have reflected popular curiosity in this unique partnership of art and science.