Engravings of the bones, muscles, and joints, illustrating the first volume of the Anatomy of the human body / By John Bell.

  • Bell, John, 1763-1820.
Date:
1804
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Engravings of the bones, muscles, and joints, illustrating the first volume of the Anatomy of the human body / By John Bell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of Cheffelden, Hunter and Cowper, are drawn truly, and from nature, and cannot be forgotten, while anatomy, and the arts de- pending on it, continue to be efteemed. Yet even, among thofe great men, we have feen an idea gradually improving, till at laft it was brought by Haller to the true point. For Albinus’s draw- ings are merely plans: Bidloo’s tables are beautiful and mafterly; but being wanting in regularity and order, they want altogether the clearnefs of a plan; Haller’s drawings are as fair as Bidloo’s, as regular as thofe of Albinus ; and combine in one the truth and fometimes the elegance of drawing, with the plainnefs and accuracy of a mere plan. If an anatomift fhall fet up a fkeleton, and draw it in pos- tures refembling thofe of life; if he fhall diffeft the human bo- dy, ftudying and drawing it in parts; if he fhall continue draw- ing mufcle after mufcle, and one part after another, till he have gone through the whole; if he fhall proceed then to take thefedraw- ings and notes of individual parts, and lay them over his firft drawings of the bones ; if he fhall try to match the parts belong- ing to fifty individual bodies of different fizes, of various forms, dying, feme fuddenly, and others flowly, fome full and mufcular, others emaciated and poor; what will the refult of all this be, but a mere plan ? It is apian merely, through all the procels, and in all its parts ; it cannot be other than a plan when the whole work is accomplifhed