Juan de Arfe’s artistic anatomy

Abstract

This article examines the singularity of the anatomy and morphology exhibited in the Second Book of the treatise of Juan de Arfe y Villafañe De Varia Commensuracion para la Sculptura y Architectura, published in Seville in 1585, and considered by classical researchers the fi rst work on anatomy printed specifi cally for fine arts. We study Arfe’s possible biographical and iconographical sources as well as his first hand experience of corpses and skeletal remains. We also examine the reasons that led him to display his anatomical knowledge in an art book, and we end up referring to the importance of this section of De Varia Commensuracion in the Spanish Art literature.